Proverbs 17  Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

17 Better is a dry morsel with quietness than a house full of feasting [on offered sacrifices] with strife.

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

³ The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tries the hearts.^(A)

⁴ An evildoer gives heed to wicked lips; and a liar listens to a mischievous tongue.

⁵ Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker, and he who is glad at calamity shall not be held innocent or go unpunished.^(B)

⁶ Children’s children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their fathers.^(C)

⁷ Fine or arrogant speech does not befit [an empty-headed] fool—much less do lying lips befit a prince.

⁸ A bribe is like a bright, precious stone that dazzles the eyes and affects the mind of him who gives it; [as if by magic] he prospers, whichever way he turns.

⁹ He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats or harps on a matter separates even close friends.

¹⁰ A reproof enters deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred lashes into a [self-confident] fool.^(D)

¹¹ An evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore a stern and pitiless messenger shall be sent against him.

¹² Let [the brute ferocity of] a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man rather than a [self-confident] fool in his folly [when he is in a rage].^(E)

¹³ Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.^(F)

¹⁴ The beginning of strife is as when water first trickles [from a crack in a dam]; therefore stop contention before it becomes worse and quarreling breaks out.

¹⁵ He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both an abomination [exceedingly disgusting and hateful] to the Lord.^(G)

¹⁶ Of what use is money in the hand of a [self-confident] fool to buy skillful and godly Wisdom—when he has no understanding or heart for it?

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

¹⁸ A man void of good sense gives a pledge and becomes security for another in the presence of his neighbor.

¹⁹ He who loves strife and is quarrelsome loves transgression and involves himself in guilt; he who raises high his gateway and is boastful and arrogant invites destruction.

²⁰ He who has a wayward and crooked mind finds no good, and he who has a willful and contrary tongue will fall into calamity.^(H)

²¹ He who becomes the parent of a [self-confident] fool does it to his sorrow, and the father of [an empty-headed] fool has no joy [in him].

²² A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.^(I)

²³ A wicked man receives a bribe out of the bosom (pocket) to pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴ A man of understanding sets skillful and godly Wisdom before his face, but the eyes of a [self-confident] fool are on the ends of the earth.

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

²⁶ Also, to punish or fine the righteous is not good, nor to smite the noble for their uprightness.

²⁷ He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding has a cool spirit.^(J)

²⁸ Even a fool when he holds his peace is considered wise; when he closes his lips he is esteemed a man of understanding.