Proverbs 17:19-28

English Standard Version

¹⁹ Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
    he who ^(A)makes his door high seeks destruction.
^20 (B)A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
    and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
²¹ He who ^(C)sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
    and the father of a fool has no joy.
^22 (D)A joyful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit ^(E)dries up the bones.
²³ The wicked accepts ^(F)a bribe in secret^[a]
    to ^(G)pervert the ways of justice.
^24 (H)The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
    but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
^25 (I)A foolish son is a grief to his father
    ^(J)and bitterness to ^(K)her who bore him.
^26 (L)To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
    nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
²⁷ Whoever ^(M)restrains his words has knowledge,
    and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
²⁸ Even a fool ^(N)who keeps silent is considered wise;
    when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.