17 ^(A)Better is a dry morsel and tranquility with it
Than a house full of ^[a]feasting with strife.
² A slave who acts insightfully will rule over a son who acts shamefully,
And will share in the inheritance among brothers.
³ The ^(B)refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
But ^(C)Yahweh tests hearts.
⁴ An ^(D)evildoer gives heed to lips of wickedness;
^[b]A liar gives ear to a destructive tongue.
⁵ He who mocks the ^(E)poor reproaches his Maker;
He who is ^(F)glad at disaster will not go unpunished.
^6 [c](G)Grandchildren are the crown of old men,
And the ^(H)beauty of sons is their fathers.
^7 (I)Excellent lips are not fitting for a ^[d]wicked fool,
Even less are ^(J)lying lips for a noble man.
⁸ A ^(K)bribe is a ^[e]charm in the eyes of its owner;
Wherever he turns, he prospers.
⁹ He who ^(L)covers a transgression seeks love,
But he who repeats a matter ^(M)separates close companions.
¹⁰ A rebuke goes deeper into one who understands
Than a hundred blows into a fool.
¹¹ A rebellious man seeks only evil,
So a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
¹² Let a ^(N)man meet a ^(O)bear robbed of her cubs,
Rather than a fool in his folly.
¹³ He who ^(P)returns evil for good,
^(Q)Evil will not depart from his house.
¹⁴ The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
So ^(R)abandon the dispute before it breaks out.
¹⁵ He who ^(S)justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous,
Both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.
¹⁶ Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to ^(T)acquire wisdom,
When ^[f]he has no heart of wisdom?
¹⁷ A ^(U)friend loves at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.
¹⁸ A man lacking a heart of wisdom ^(V)strikes his ^[g]hands in pledge
And becomes guarantor in the presence of his neighbor.
¹⁹ He who ^(W)loves transgression loves quarreling;
He who ^(X)makes his doorway high seeks destruction.
²⁰ He who has a crooked heart ^(Y)finds no good,
And he who is ^(Z)perverted in his tongue falls into evil.
²¹ He who ^(AA)begets a fool does so to his grief,
And the father of a wicked fool is not glad.
²² A ^(AB)glad heart ^[h]is good medicine,
But a broken spirit ^(AC)dries up the bones.
²³ A wicked man receives a ^(AD)bribe from the bosom
To ^(AE)thrust aside the paths of justice.
²⁴ Wisdom is in the presence of the one who understands,
But the ^(AF)eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
²⁵ A ^(AG)foolish son is a vexation to his father
And ^(AH)bitterness to her who gave birth to him.
²⁶ It is also not good to ^(AI)punish the righteous,
Nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
²⁷ He who ^(AJ)holds back his words ^[i]has knowledge,
And he who has a ^(AK)cool spirit is a man of discernment.
²⁸ Even an ignorant fool, when he ^(AL)keeps silent, is considered wise;
When he closes his lips, he is considered understanding.