Proverbs 17

Listen to Proverbs 17
1 1Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting[a] with strife.
2 A servant who deals wisely will rule over 2a son who acts shamefully and 3will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
3 4The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, 5and the LORD tests hearts.
4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
5 Whoever mocks the poor 6insults his Maker; he who is 7glad at calamity will not go 8unpunished.
6 9Grandchildren are 10the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.
7 Fine speech is not 11becoming to a fool; still less is 12false speech to a prince.
8 13A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.
9 Whoever 14covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter 15separates close friends.
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 16a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 Let a man meet 17a she-bear robbed of her cubs 18rather than a fool in his folly.
13 If anyone 19returns evil for good, 20evil will not depart from his house.
14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so 21quit before the quarrel breaks out.
15 He who 22justifies the wicked and he who 23condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.
16 Why should a fool have money in his hand 24to buy wisdom when he has no sense?
17 25A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
18 One who lacks sense gives a pledge and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
19 Whoever loves transgression loves strife; he who 26makes his door high seeks destruction.
20 27A man of crooked heart does not discover good, and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
21 He who 28sires a fool gets himself sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy.
22 29A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit 30dries up the bones.
23 The wicked accepts 31a bribe in secret[b] to 32pervert the ways of justice.
24 33The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25 34A foolish son is a grief to his father 35and bitterness to 36her who bore him.
26 37To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good, nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
27 Whoever 38restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28 Even a fool 39who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Images for Proverbs 17

Cross References 39

  • 1. Proverbs 15:17
  • 2. ver. 21, 25; Proverbs 10:5; Proverbs 19:26
  • 3. [2 Samuel 16:4]
  • 4. Proverbs 27:21
  • 5. 1 Chronicles 29:17; Psalms 26:2; Jeremiah 17:10; Malachi 3:3
  • 6. Proverbs 14:31; [Matthew 25:40, 45]
  • 7. Job 31:29; Obadiah 12; [Proverbs 24:17]
  • 8. Proverbs 16:5
  • 9. Psalms 128:6; [Psalms 127:3, 4]
  • 10. Proverbs 16:31
  • 11. [Proverbs 19:10; Proverbs 26:1]
  • 12. Proverbs 6:17
  • 13. ver. 23; Proverbs 18:16; Proverbs 19:6; Proverbs 21:14; [Exodus 23:8; Isaiah 1:23; Amos 5:12]
  • 14. Proverbs 10:12
  • 15. Proverbs 16:28
  • 16. [1 Kings 2:29]
  • 17. 2 Samuel 17:8; Hosea 13:8
  • 18. [Proverbs 27:3]
  • 19. Psalms 35:12; Psalms 109:4, 5; [Proverbs 20:22; Matthew 5:39]
  • 20. [2 Samuel 12:10]
  • 21. Proverbs 20:3; Proverbs 25:8
  • 22. Proverbs 24:24; Exodus 23:7; Isaiah 5:23
  • 23. Job 34:17; Psalms 94:21; [ver. 26; Proverbs 18:5]
  • 24. [Proverbs 23:23]
  • 25. Proverbs 18:24; Proverbs 27:10; [Ruth 1:16; Job 6:14]
  • 26. [Proverbs 11:2; Proverbs 29:23]
  • 27. [Proverbs 11:20]
  • 28. Proverbs 10:1; Proverbs 19:13
  • 29. See Proverbs 15:13
  • 30. Psalms 22:15; [Proverbs 12:25]
  • 31. See ver. 8
  • 32. [Micah 3:11; Micah 7:3]
  • 33. [Proverbs 14:6; Proverbs 15:14; Ecclesiastes 2:14]; See Deuteronomy 30:11-14
  • 34. [See ver. 21 above]
  • 35. Proverbs 10:1
  • 36. Proverbs 23:25
  • 37. [ver. 15]
  • 38. Proverbs 10:19; [James 1:19]
  • 39. Job 13:5

Footnotes 2

Proverbs 17 Commentaries

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.