17 (A)Better is a dry morsel with quiet
    than a house full of feasting[a] with strife.
A servant who deals wisely will rule over (B)a son who acts shamefully
    and (C)will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
(D)The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
    (E)and the Lord tests hearts.
An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
    and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
Whoever mocks the poor (F)insults his Maker;
    he who is (G)glad at calamity will not go (H)unpunished.
(I)Grandchildren are (J)the crown of the aged,
    and the glory of children is their fathers.
Fine speech is not (K)becoming to a fool;
    still less is (L)false speech to a prince.
(M)A bribe is like a magic[b] stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
    wherever he turns he prospers.
Whoever (N)covers an offense seeks love,
    but he who repeats a matter (O)separates close friends.
10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
    than a hundred blows into a fool.
11 An evil man seeks only rebellion,
    and (P)a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 Let a man meet (Q)a she-bear robbed of her cubs
    (R)rather than a fool in his folly.
13 If anyone (S)returns evil for good,
    (T)evil will not depart from his house.
14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
    so (U)quit before the quarrel breaks out.
15 He who (V)justifies the wicked and he who (W)condemns the righteous
    are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
16 Why should a fool have money in his hand (X)to buy wisdom
    when he has no sense?
17 (Y)A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for adversity.
18 One who lacks sense gives a pledge
    and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
19 Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
    he who (Z)makes his door high seeks destruction.
20 (AA)A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
    and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
21 He who (AB)sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
    and the father of a fool has no joy.
22 (AC)A joyful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit (AD)dries up the bones.
23 The wicked accepts (AE)a bribe in secret[c]
    to (AF)pervert the ways of justice.
24 (AG)The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
    but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25 (AH)A foolish son is a grief to his father
    (AI)and bitterness to (AJ)her who bore him.
26 (AK)To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
    nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
27 Whoever (AL)restrains his words has knowledge,
    and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28 Even a fool (AM)who keeps silent is considered wise;
    when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:1 Hebrew sacrifices
  2. Proverbs 17:8 Or precious
  3. Proverbs 17:23 Hebrew a bribe from the bosom

A Census of Israel's Warriors

The Lord spoke to Moses (A)in the wilderness of Sinai, (B)in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, (C)“Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, (D)by fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. (E)From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, (F)company by company. And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, (G)Elizur the son of Shedeur; from Simeon, (H)Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; from Judah, (I)Nahshon the son of Amminadab; from Issachar, (J)Nethanel the son of Zuar; from Zebulun, (K)Eliab the son of Helon; 10 from the sons of Joseph, from Ephraim, (L)Elishama the son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, (M)Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; 11 from Benjamin, (N)Abidan the son of Gideoni; 12 from Dan, (O)Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; 13 from Asher, (P)Pagiel the son of Ochran; 14 from Gad, Eliasaph the son of (Q)Deuel; 15 from Naphtali, (R)Ahira the son of Enan.” 16 These were the ones (S)chosen from the congregation, (T)the chiefs of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.

17 Moses and Aaron took these men (U)who had been named, 18 and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by clans, by fathers' houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, 19 as the Lord commanded Moses. So he listed them in the wilderness of Sinai.

20 The people of (V)Reuben, Israel's firstborn, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 21 those listed of the tribe of Reuben were (W)46,500.

22 Of the people of Simeon, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, those of them who were listed, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 23 those listed of the tribe of Simeon were (X)59,300.

24 Of the people of Gad, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 25 those listed of the tribe of Gad were (Y)45,650.

26 Of the people of Judah, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 27 those listed of the tribe of Judah were (Z)74,600.

28 Of the people of Issachar, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 29 those listed of the tribe of Issachar were (AA)54,400.

30 Of the people of Zebulun, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 31 those listed of the tribe of Zebulun were (AB)57,400.

32 Of the people of Joseph, namely, of the people of Ephraim, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 33 those listed of the tribe of Ephraim were (AC)40,500.

34 Of the people of Manasseh, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 35 those listed of the tribe of Manasseh were (AD)32,200.

36 Of the people of Benjamin, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 37 those listed of the tribe of Benjamin were (AE)35,400.

38 Of the people of Dan, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 39 those listed of the tribe of Dan were (AF)62,700.

40 Of the people of Asher, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 41 those listed of the tribe of Asher were (AG)41,500.

42 Of the people of Naphtali, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 43 those listed of the tribe of Naphtali were (AH)53,400.

44 (AI)These are those who were listed, whom Moses and Aaron listed with the help of the chiefs of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers' house. 45 So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel— 46 all those listed were (AJ)603,550.

Levites Exempted

47 But (AK)the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe. 48 For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 49 “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel. 50 (AL)But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it (AM)and shall camp around the tabernacle. 51 (AN)When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. (AO)And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death. 52 The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp and (AP)each man by his own standard. 53 But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no (AQ)wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. (AR)And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony.” 54 Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses.

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