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Proverbs 17
Good News Translation
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 International Version
Proverbs 17
New International Version
17 Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
than a house full of feasting, with strife.(A)
2 A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son
and will share the inheritance as one of the family.
4 A wicked person listens to deceitful lips;
a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.
5 Whoever mocks the poor(D) shows contempt for their Maker;(E)
whoever gloats over disaster(F) will not go unpunished.(G)
6 Children’s children(H) are a crown to the aged,
and parents are the pride of their children.
7 Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool—
how much worse lying lips to a ruler!(I)
8 A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives it;
they think success will come at every turn.(J)
9 Whoever would foster love covers over an offense,(K)
but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.(L)
10 A rebuke impresses a discerning person
more than a hundred lashes a fool.
11 Evildoers foster rebellion against God;
the messenger of death will be sent against them.
12 Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
than a fool bent on folly.(M)
14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;
so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.(P)
16 Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom,
when they are not able to understand it?(S)
17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity.(T)
18 One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge
and puts up security for a neighbor.(U)
19 Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin;
whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.
20 One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper;
one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.
21 To have a fool for a child brings grief;
there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.(V)
24 A discerning person keeps wisdom in view,
but a fool’s eyes(AA) wander to the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son brings grief to his father
and bitterness to the mother who bore him.(AB)
26 If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good,(AC)
surely to flog honest officials is not right.
27 The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint,(AD)
and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.(AE)
28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent,
and discerning if they hold their tongues.(AF)
Proverbs 17
1599 Geneva Bible
Proverbs 17
1599 Geneva Bible
17 1 Better is a dry morsel, if peace be with it, than an house full of [a]sacrifices with strife.
2 A discrete servant shall have rule over a lewd son, and he shall divide the [b]heritage among the brethren.
3 As is the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold, so the Lord trieth the hearts.
4 The wicked giveth heed to false lips, and a liar hearkeneth to the naughty tongue.
5 (A)He that mocketh the poor, reproacheth him that made him: and he that rejoiceth at destruction, shall not be unpunished.
6 Children’s children are the crown of the elders: and the glory of the children are their fathers.
7 [c]High talk becometh not a fool, much less a lying talk a prince.
8 A reward is as a stone pleasant in the eyes of them that have it: it prospereth, whithersoever it [d]turneth.
9 He that covereth a transgression, seeketh love: but he that repeateth a matter, separateth the [e]prince.
10 A reproof entereth more into him that hath understanding, than an hundred stripes into a fool.
11 A seditious person seeketh only evil, and a cruel [f]messenger shall be sent against him.
12 It is better for a man to meet a bear robbed of her whelps, than [g]a fool in his folly.
13 (B)He that rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
14 The beginning of strife is as one that openeth the waters: therefore, or the contention be meddled with, leave off.
15 (C)He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord.
16 Wherefore is there a [h]price in the hand of the fool to get wisdom, and he hath none heart?
17 A friend loveth at all times; and a [i]brother is born for adversity.
18 A man destitute of understanding, [j]toucheth the hand, and becometh surety for his neighbor.
19 He loveth transgression that loveth strife: and he that exalteth his [k]gate, seeketh destruction.
20 The froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a naughty tongue, shall fall into evil.
21 He that begetteth a fool, getteth himself sorrow, and the father of a fool can have no joy.
22 (D)A joyful heart causeth good health: but a sorrowful mind drieth the bones.
23 A wicked man taketh a gift out of the [l]bosom to wrest the ways of judgment.
24 (E)Wisdom is in the face of him that hath understanding: but the eyes of a fool are in the [m]corners of the world.
25 A foolish son is a grief unto his father, and a (F)heaviness to her that bare him.
26 Surely it is not good to condemn the just, nor that the princes should smite such [n]for equity.
27 He that hath knowledge, spareth his words, and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
28 Even a fool, (when he holdeth his peace) is counted wise, and he that stoppeth his lips, prudent.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 17:1 For whereas were many sacrifices, there were many portions given to the people, wherewith they feasted.
- Proverbs 17:2 That is, shall be made governor over the children.
- Proverbs 17:7 Hebrew, the lip of excellency.
- Proverbs 17:8 The reward hath great force to gain the hearts of men.
- Proverbs 17:9 He that admonisheth the prince of his fault, maketh him his enemy.
- Proverbs 17:11 By the messenger is meant such means as God useth to punish the rebels.
- Proverbs 17:12 Whereby he meaneth the wicked in his rage, who hath no fear of God.
- Proverbs 17:16 What availeth it the wicked to be rich, seeing he setteth not his mind to wisdom?
- Proverbs 17:17 So that he is more than a friend, even a brother that helpeth in time of adversity.
- Proverbs 17:18 Read Prov. 6:1.
- Proverbs 17:19 Lifteth up himself above his degree.
- Proverbs 17:23 That is, secretly and out of the bosom of the rich.
- Proverbs 17:24 That is, wander to and fro, and seek not after wisdom.
- Proverbs 17:26 For their well doing.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
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.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.