17 Better a dry piece of bread with calm
    than a house full of food but also full of strife.

² An intelligent slave will rule a shameful son
    and share the inheritance with the brothers.

³ The crucible [tests] silver, and the furnace [tests] gold,
    but the one who tests hearts is Adonai.

⁴ An evildoer heeds wicked lips;
    a liar listens to destructive talk.

⁵ He who mocks the poor insults his maker;
    he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

⁶ Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
    while the glory of children is their ancestors.

⁷ Fine speech is unbecoming to a boor,
    and even less lying lips to a leader.

⁸ A bribe works like a charm, in the view of him who gives it —
    wherever it turns, it succeeds.

⁹ He who conceals an offense promotes love,
    but he who harps on it can separate even close friends.

¹⁰ A rebuke makes more impression on a person of understanding
    than a hundred blows on a fool.

¹¹ An evil person seeks only rebellion,
    but a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

¹² Rather meet a bear robbed of its cubs
    than encounter a fool in his folly.
¹³ Evil will not depart from the house
    of him who returns evil for good.

¹⁴ Starting a fight is like letting water through [a dike] —
    better stop the quarrel before it gets worse.

¹⁵ He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous —
    both alike are an abomination to Adonai.

¹⁶ Why would a fool wish to pay for wisdom
    when he has no desire to learn?

¹⁷ A friend shows his friendship at all times —
    it is for adversity that [such] a brother is born.

¹⁸ He who gives his hand to guarantee a loan
    for his neighbor lacks good sense.

¹⁹ Those who love quarreling love giving offense;
    those who make their gates tall are courting disaster.

²⁰ A crooked-hearted person will find nothing good,
    and the perverse of speech will end in calamity.

²¹ He who fathers a fool does so to his sorrow,
    and the father of a boor has no joy.

²² A happy heart is good medicine,
    but low spirits sap one’s strength.

²³ From under a cloak a bad man takes a bribe
    to pervert the course of justice.

²⁴ The discerning person focuses on wisdom there before him,
    but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.
²⁵ A son who is a fool means anger for his father
    and bitterness for the mother who gave him birth.

²⁶ To punish the innocent is not right,
    likewise to flog noble people for their uprightness.

²⁷ A knowledgeable person controls his tongue;
    a discerning person controls his temper.

²⁸ Even a fool, if he stays silent, is thought wise;
    he who keeps his mouth shut can pass for smart.