Proverbs 17:17-28

English Standard Version Anglicised

^17 (A)A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for adversity.
¹⁸ One who lacks sense gives a pledge
    and puts up security in the presence of his neighbour.
¹⁹ Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
    he who ^(B)makes his door high seeks destruction.
^20 (C)A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
    and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
²¹ He who ^(D)sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
    and the father of a fool has no joy.
^22 (E)A joyful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit ^(F)dries up the bones.
²³ The wicked accepts ^(G)a bribe in secret^[a]
    to ^(H)pervert the ways of justice.
^24 (I)The discerning sets his face towards wisdom,
    but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
^25 (J)A foolish son is a grief to his father
    ^(K)and bitterness to ^(L)her who bore him.
^26 (M)To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
    nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
²⁷ Whoever ^(N)restrains his words has knowledge,
    and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
²⁸ Even a fool ^(O)who keeps silent is considered wise;
    when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.