Proverbs 17
Good News Translation
17 Better to eat a dry crust of bread with peace of mind than have a banquet in a house full of trouble.
2 A shrewd servant will gain authority over a master's worthless son and receive a part of the inheritance.
3 Gold and silver are tested by fire, and a person's heart is tested by the Lord.
4 Evil people listen to evil ideas, and liars listen to lies.
5 If you make fun of poor people, you insult the God who made them. You will be punished if you take pleasure in someone's misfortune.
6 Grandparents are proud of their grandchildren, just as children are proud of their parents.
7 Respected people do not tell lies, and fools have nothing worthwhile to say.
8 Some people think a bribe works like magic; they believe it can do anything.
9 If you want people to like you, forgive them when they wrong you. Remembering wrongs can break up a friendship.
10 An intelligent person learns more from one rebuke than a fool learns from being beaten a hundred times.
11 Death will come like a cruel messenger to wicked people who are always stirring up trouble.
12 It is better to meet a mother bear robbed of her cubs than to meet some fool busy with a stupid project.
13 If you repay good with evil, you will never get evil out of your house.
14 The start of an argument is like the first break in a dam; stop it before it goes any further.
15 Condemning the innocent or letting the wicked go—both are hateful to the Lord.
16 It does a fool no good to spend money on an education, because he has no common sense.
17 (A)Friends always show their love. What are relatives for if not to share trouble?
18 Only someone with no sense would promise to be responsible for someone else's debts.
19 To like sin is to like making trouble. If you brag all the time,[a] you are asking for trouble.
20 Anyone who thinks and speaks evil can expect to find nothing good—only disaster.
21 There is nothing but sadness and sorrow for parents whose children do foolish things.
22 Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time.
23 Corrupt judges accept secret bribes, and then justice is not done.
24 An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions.
25 Foolish children bring grief to their fathers and bitter regrets to their mothers.
26 It is not right to make an innocent person pay a fine; justice is perverted when good people are punished.
27 Those who are sure of themselves do not talk all the time. People who stay calm have real insight. 28 (B)After all, even fools may be thought wise and intelligent if they stay quiet and keep their mouths shut.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 17:19 brag … time; or make a show of your wealth.
Proverbs 17
New Century Version
17 It is better to eat a dry crust of bread in peace
than to have a feast where there is quarreling.
2 A wise servant will rule over the master’s disgraceful child
and will even inherit a share of what the master leaves his children.
3 A hot furnace tests silver and gold,
but the Lord tests hearts.
4 Evil people listen to evil words.
Liars pay attention to cruel words.
5 Whoever mistreats the poor insults their Maker;
whoever enjoys someone’s trouble will be punished.
6 Old people are proud of their grandchildren,
and children are proud of their parents.
7 Fools should not be proud,
and rulers should not be liars.
8 Some people think they can pay others to do anything they ask.
They think it will work every time.
9 Whoever forgives someone’s sin makes a friend,
but gossiping about the sin breaks up friendships.
10 A wise person will learn more from a warning
than a fool will learn from a hundred lashings.
11 Disobedient people look only for trouble,
so a cruel messenger will be sent against them.
12 It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
than to meet a fool doing foolish things.
13 Whoever gives evil in return for good
will always have trouble at home.
14 Starting a quarrel is like a leak in a dam,
so stop it before a fight breaks out.
15 The Lord hates both of these things:
freeing the guilty and punishing the innocent.
16 It won’t do a fool any good to try to buy wisdom,
because he doesn’t have the ability to be wise.
17 A friend loves you all the time,
and a brother helps in time of trouble.
18 It is not wise to promise
to pay what your neighbor owes.
19 Whoever loves to argue loves to sin.
Whoever brags a lot is asking for trouble.
20 A person with an evil heart will find no success,
and the person whose words are evil will get into trouble.
21 It is sad to have a foolish child;
there is no joy in being the parent of a fool.
22 A happy heart is like good medicine,
but a broken spirit drains your strength.
23 When the wicked accept money to do wrong
there can be no justice.
24 The person with understanding is always looking for wisdom,
but the mind of a fool wanders everywhere.
25 Foolish children make their father sad
and cause their mother great sorrow.
26 It is not good to punish the innocent
or to beat leaders for being honest.
27 The wise say very little,
and those with understanding stay calm.
28 Even fools seem to be wise if they keep quiet;
if they don’t speak, they appear to understand.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
