Proverbs 17 - Modern English Version

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

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

³ The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord is the tester of the heart.

⁴ An evildoer listens to lying lips, and a liar listens to a spiteful tongue.

⁵ He who mocks the poor shows contempt for his Maker; and he who gloats at calamity will not go unpunished.

⁶ Children’s children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their father.

⁷ Excellent speech is not fitting for a fool, much less do lying lips fit a prince.

⁸ A gift is like a charm in the eyes of him who has it; wherever he turns, he prospers.

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

¹⁰ One rebuke goes deeper into a wise man than a hundred blows into a fool.

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

¹² Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.

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

¹⁴ The beginning of strife is like letting out water; so stop the contention before fighting begins.

¹⁵ He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the just, both are abominations to the Lord.

¹⁶ Why is money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom since he has no heart for it?

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

¹⁸ A man devoid of understanding shakes hands in pledge and guarantees the loan for his neighbor.

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

²⁰ He who has a crooked heart does not prosper; and he who has a deceitful tongue falls into calamity.

²¹ He who begets a fool begets grief, and the father of a fool is bereft of joy.

²² A heart of cheer does good like a medicine, but a wounded spirit dries up the bones.

²³ A wicked man accepts a concealed bribe to pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴ The sight of the discerning is toward wisdom, but the eyes of the fool are on the ends of the earth.

²⁵ A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.

²⁶ To punish the righteous is not good, nor to strike princes for their integrity.

²⁷ He who has knowledge spares his words; a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.

²⁸ Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is considered wise; when he shuts his lips he is deemed a man of understanding.