Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible

Proverbs Chapter 17 (Revised Standard Version)

Proverbs 17

    1 Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.
2 A slave who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully, and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
3 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tries hearts.
4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips; and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.
5 He who mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of sons is their fathers.
7 Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.
8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of him who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.
9 He who forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter alienates a friend.
10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.
11 An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs, rather than a fool in his folly.
13 If a man returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.
14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water; so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.
16 Why should a fool have a price in his hand to buy wisdom, when he has no mind?
17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
18 A man without sense gives a pledge, and becomes surety in the presence of his neighbor.
19 He who loves transgression loves strife; he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
20 A man of crooked mind does not prosper, and one with a perverse tongue falls into calamity.
21 A stupid son is a grief to a father; and the father of a fool has no joy.
22 A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.
23 A wicked man accepts a bribe from the bosom to pervert the ways of justice.
24 A man of understanding sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.
26 To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good; to flog noble men is wrong.
27 He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.