Proverbs 17 (TRV)

1 Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of sacrifices with strife.

2 A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame, and will share an inheritance among the brethren.

3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the hearts.

4 An wicked doer gives heed to false lips; and a liar gives ear to a evil tongue.

5 He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; He who is glad at calamity will not be unpunished.

6 Children’s children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children are their fathers.

7 Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool, much less do lying lips to a prince.

8 A gift is a precious stone in the eyes of him who has it; wherever it turns, it prospers.

9 He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

10 A reproof enters into a wise man better than a hundred stripes into a fool.

11 An evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

12 Let a bear robbed of her cubs meet with a man, rather than a fool in his folly.

13 Whoever rewards evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.

14 The beginning of strife is like when one lets out water; therefore refrain from contention before it is engaged with.

15 He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them likewise are an abomination to the LORD.

16 Why is there the price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he has no heart for it?

17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

18 A man void of understanding strikes hands, and becomes surety in the presence of his friend.

19 He who loves transgression loves strife, and he who exalts his gate seeks destruction.

20 He who has a deceitful heart finds no good, and he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil.

21 He who begets a fool does so to his sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy.

22 A merry heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.

23 A wicked man takes a gift behind out of the inside pocket to pervert the ways of justice.

24 Wisdom is before him who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.

25 A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him.

26 Also, to punish the righteous is not good, nor to strike princes for their equity.

27 He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.

28 Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace, and when he shuts his lips, is esteemed a man of understanding.