Proverbs 17:16-26

16 Why does a fool have money in his hand with no intention of buying wisdom?^[a]

17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time.^[b]

18 One without sense enters an agreement^[c] and puts up security for his friend.^[d]

19 One who loves to offend loves strife; one who builds a high threshold invites injury.^[e]

20 One with a twisted mind will not succeed, and one with deceitful speech will fall into ruin.^[f]

21 A man fathers a fool to his own sorrow; the father of a fool has no joy.^[g]

22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.^[h]

23 A wicked man secretly takes a bribe to subvert the course of justice.^[i]

24 Wisdom is the focus of the perceptive, but a fool's eyes roam to the ends of the earth.

25 A foolish son is grief to his father and bitterness to the one who bore him.^[j]

26 It is certainly not good to fine an innocent person, or to beat a noble for his honesty.^{[k] [l]}

Proverbs 17:16-26 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 7

This chapter gives an account of some buildings of Solomon for himself, 1Ki 7:1-12; and of other things for the use of the temple; of two pillars of brass, 1Ki 7:13-22; of the molten sea, 1Ki 7:23-26; and of ten bases, and ten layers on them, 1Ki 7:27-39; with other utensils and ornaments, 1Ki 7:40-51.

Footnotes

• [a]. Pr 4:5,7; 18:15
• [b]. Pr 18:24; 27:10
• [c]. Lit sense shakes hands
• [d]. Pr 6:1-5; 11:15; 22:26
• [e]. Pr 13:10; 16:18; 29:22
• [f]. Jr 23:36
• [g]. Pr 10:1; 17:25; 23:24-25
• [h]. Pr 14:30; 15:13; 18:14
• [i]. Pr 18:5; Dt 16:19; Ps 15:5
• [j]. Pr 10:1; 17:21; 19:13
• [k]. Or noble unfairly
• [l]. Pr 17:15; 18:5; 24:23-24