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
Christian Standard Bible
17 Better a dry crust with peace
than a house full of feasting with strife.(A)
2 A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son
and share an inheritance among brothers.
4 A wicked person listens to malicious talk;[a]
a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.
5 The one who mocks the poor insults his Maker,(D)
and one who rejoices over calamity
will not go unpunished.(E)
6 Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly,
and the pride of children is their fathers.
7 Eloquent words are not appropriate on a fool’s lips;
how much worse are lies for a ruler.
10 A rebuke cuts into a perceptive person
more than a hundred lashes into a fool.
12 Better for a person to meet a bear robbed of her cubs(K)
than a fool in his foolishness.
14 To start a conflict is to release a flood;
stop the dispute before it breaks out.(N)
15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the just(O)—
both are detestable to the Lord.
16 Why does a fool have money in his hand
with no intention of buying wisdom?(P)
17 A friend loves at all times,(Q)
and a brother is born for a difficult time.
19 One who loves to offend loves strife;(S)
one who builds a high threshold invites injury.
20 One with a twisted mind will not succeed,
and one with deceitful speech will fall into ruin.(T)
21 A man fathers a fool to his own sorrow;
the father of a fool has no joy.(U)
22 A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit dries up the bones.(V)
24 Wisdom is the focus of the perceptive,
but a fool’s eyes(Y) roam to the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son is grief to his father
and bitterness to the one who bore him.(Z)
27 The one who has knowledge restrains his words,(AB)
and one who keeps a cool head[e]
is a person of understanding.
28 Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent—
discerning, when he seals his lips.(AC)
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The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.