Proverbs 17
Lexham English Bible
17 Better a dry morsel and quiet with it
than a house filled with feasts of strife.
2 A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully,
and in the midst of brothers he will share his inheritance.
3 A crucible is for the silver, and a furnace is for the gold,
but Yahweh will test hearts.
4 He who does evil listens to lips of wickedness,
and the liar gives heed to the tongue of mischief.
5 He who mocks the poor insults him who made him;
he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.
6 The crown of the elderly are grandchildren,[a]
and the glory of children is their fathers.
7 Fine speech[b] is not becoming a fool,
still less[c] is false speech[d] for a ruler.
8 The bribe is a stone of magic in the eyes of its owner;[e]
everywhere[f] he will turn, he will prosper.
9 He who forgives an affront fosters love,
but he who waits on a matter will alienate a friend.
10 A rebuke strikes him who understands
deeper than one hundred blows to a fool.
11 An evil person will seek only rebellion,
and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 May a man meet a she-bear robbed of offspring
and not a fool in his folly.
13 For he who returns evil for good,
evil will not depart from his house.
14 Like the release of water is the beginning of strife;
before it breaks out, stop the quarrel.
15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous,
the two of them are both abominations of Yahweh.
16 Why is this? A price in the hand of a fool,
in order to buy wisdom where[g] there is no sense.[h]
17 The friend loves at all times[i],
but a brother is born for adversity.
18 A person who lacks sense[j] pledges;[k]
he becomes security before his neighbor.
19 He who loves transgression loves strife;
he who builds his high thresholds seeks destruction.
20 He who is crooked of heart[l] will not find goodness,
and he who is perverse, by his tongue he will fall into calamity.
21 He who begets a fool, there is trouble for him;
the father of a fool will not rejoice.
22 A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a downcast spirit will dry out bones.
23 The wicked will accept a bribe from the lap,
in order to pervert the ways of justice.
24 He who understands sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool, to the end of the earth.[m]
25 A grief to his father is the child of a fool,
and bitterness to her who bore him.
26 Also, imposing a fine on the righteous is not good,
nor to flog nobles for uprightness.
27 He who spares his sayings knows knowledge,
and a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28 Even a fool who keeps silent shall be considered wise;[n]
he who closes his lips is intelligent.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 17:6 Literally “sons of sons”
- Proverbs 17:7 Literally “A lip of fineness”
- Proverbs 17:7 Literally “only for”
- Proverbs 17:7 Literally “lip of deceit”
- Proverbs 17:8 Or “master”
- Proverbs 17:8 Literally “to all which”
- Proverbs 17:16 Hebrew “and”
- Proverbs 17:16 Literally “heart”
- Proverbs 17:17 Hebrew “time”
- Proverbs 17:18 Literally “heart”
- Proverbs 17:18 Literally “pledges a hand”
- Proverbs 17:20 Or “mind”
- Proverbs 17:24 Or “land”
- Proverbs 17:28 Literally “wise, he shall be considered”
Proverbs 17
Common English Bible
17 Better a dry crust with quiet
than a house full of feasting with quarrels.
2 An insightful servant rules over a disgraceful son
and will divide an inheritance
with the brothers.
3 A crucible is for silver and a furnace for gold,
but the Lord tests the heart.
4 An evildoer pays attention to guilty lips;
a liar listens to a destructive tongue.
5 Those who mock the poor insult their maker;
those who rejoice in disaster won’t go unpunished.
6 Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly,
and the glory of children is their parents.
7 Too much talking isn’t right for a fool;
even less so false speech for an honorable person.
8 A bribe seems magical in the eyes of those who give it,
granting success to all who use it.
9 One who seeks love conceals an offense,
but one who repeats it divides friends.
10 A rebuke goes deeper to an understanding person
than a hundred lashes to a fool.
11 Evil people seek only rebellion;
a cruel messenger will be sent against them.
12 Safer to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
than fools in their folly.
13 Evil will never depart from the house
of those who return evil for good.
14 The start of a quarrel is like letting out water,
so drop the dispute before it breaks out.
15 Judging the righteous wicked and the wicked righteous—
the Lord detests both of these.
16 Why should a fool have money
to pay for wisdom? He has no mind.
17 Friends love all the time,
and kinsfolk are born for times of trouble.
18 One with no sense shakes hands on a deal,
securing a loan for a friend.
19 Those who love an offense love a quarrel;
those who build a high doorway invite a collapse.
20 Those with crooked hearts won’t prosper,
and those with twisted tongues will fall into trouble.
21 Having a fool for a son brings grief;
there’s no joy for a scoundrel’s father.
22 A joyful heart helps healing,
but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
23 The wicked take secret bribes
to twist the way of justice.
24 Wisdom is right in front of those with understanding,
but the eyes of fools are off to the edges of the earth.
25 A foolish son is irritating to his father
and bitter to her who gave birth to him.
26 It isn’t good to punish the righteous,
to strike the honorable for their integrity.
27 Wise are those who restrain their talking;
people with understanding are coolheaded.
28 Fools who keep quiet are deemed wise;
those who shut their lips are smart.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible