Proverbs 17 - Christian Standard Bible Anglicised

¹ Better a dry crust with peace than a house full of feasting with strife.

² A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son and share an inheritance among brothers.

³ A crucible for silver, and a smelter for gold, and the Lord is the tester of hearts.

⁴ A wicked person listens to malicious talk; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

⁵ The one who mocks the poor insults his Maker, and one who rejoices over calamity will not go unpunished.

⁶ Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly, and the pride of children is their fathers.

⁷ Eloquent words are not appropriate on a fool’s lips; how much worse are lies for a ruler.

⁸ A bribe  seems like a magic stone to its owner; wherever he turns, he succeeds.

⁹ Whoever conceals an offence promotes love, but whoever gossips about it separates friends.

¹⁰ A rebuke cuts into a perceptive person more than a hundred lashes into a fool.

¹¹ An evil person desires only rebellion; a cruel messenger  , will be sent against him.

¹² Better for a person to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his foolishness.

¹³ If anyone returns evil for good, evil will never depart from his house.

¹⁴ To start a conflict is to release a flood; stop the dispute before it breaks out.

¹⁵ Acquitting the guilty and condemning the just   – both are detestable to the  Lord.

¹⁶ Why does a fool have money in his hand with no intention of buying wisdom?

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

¹⁸ One without sense enters an agreement and puts up security for his friend.

¹⁹ One who loves to offend loves strife; one who builds a high threshold invites injury.

²⁰ One with a twisted mind will not succeed, and one with deceitful speech will fall into ruin.

²¹ A man fathers a fool to his own sorrow; the father of a fool has no joy.

²² A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

²³ A wicked person secretly takes a bribe to subvert the course of justice.

²⁴ Wisdom is the focus of the perceptive, but a fool’s eyes  roam to the ends of the earth.

²⁵ A foolish son is grief to his father and bitterness to the one who bore him.

²⁶ It is certainly not good to fine an innocent person or to beat a noble for his honesty.  ,

²⁷ The one who has knowledge restrains his words, and one who keeps a cool head is a person of understanding.

²⁸ Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent  – discerning, when he seals his lips.