Proverbs 17:1-20

Revised Standard Version

17 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.