Proverbs 17

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1} Better a dry morsel and quiet with it than a house filled [with] feasts of strife.

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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.

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3} A crucible [is] for the silver, and a furnace [is] for the gold, but Yahweh will test hearts.

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4} He who does evil listens to lips of wickedness, [and] the liar gives heed to the tongue of mischief.

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5} He who mocks the poor insults him who made him; he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

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6} The crown of the elderly [are] {grandchildren}, and the glory of children [is] their fathers.

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7} {Fine speech} [is] not becoming a fool, {still less} [is] {false speech} for a ruler.

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8} The bribe [is] a stone of magic in the eyes of its owner; {everywhere} he will turn, he will prosper.

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9} He who forgives an affront fosters love, but he who waits on a matter will alienate a friend.

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10} A rebuke strikes him who understands deeper than one hundred blows to a fool.

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11} An evil person will seek only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

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12} [May] a man meet a she-bear robbed of offspring and not a fool in his folly.

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13} [For] he who returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.

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14} [Like] the release of water [is] the beginning of strife; before it breaks out, stop the quarrel.

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15} He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, the two of them [are] both abominations of Yahweh.

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16} Why [is] this? A price in the hand of a fool, [in order] to buy wisdom where there is no {sense}.

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17} The friend loves at all times, but a brother is born for adversity.

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18} A person who lacks {sense} {pledges}; he becomes security before his neighbor.

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19} He who loves transgression loves strife; he who builds his high thresholds seeks destruction.

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20} He who is crooked of heart will not find goodness, and he who is perverse, by his tongue he will fall into calamity.

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21} He who begets a fool, [there is] trouble for him; the father of a fool will not rejoice.

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22} A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a downcast spirit will dry out bones.

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23} The wicked will accept a bribe from the lap, [in order] to pervert the ways of justice.

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24} He who understands sets [his] face [toward] wisdom, but the eyes of a fool, to the end of the earth.

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25} A grief to his father [is] the child of a fool, and bitterness to her who bore him.

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26} Also, imposing a fine on the righteous is not good, [nor] to flog nobles for uprightness.

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27} He who spares his sayings knows knowledge, and a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

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28} Even a fool who keeps silent {shall be considered wise}; he who closes his lips [is] intelligent.