Proverbs 17:22-28

22 ¹A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit ²dries up the bones.

23 The wicked accepts ³a bribe in secret^[a] to ⁴pervert the ways of justice.

24 ⁵The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

25 ⁶A foolish son is a grief to his father ⁷and bitterness to ⁸her who bore him.

26 ⁹To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good, nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

27 Whoever ¹⁰restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

28 Even a fool ¹¹who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Proverbs 17:22-28 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.

Cross References

• 1. 17:22 See ch. 15:13
• 2. 17:22 Ps. 22:15; [ch. 12:25]
• 3. 17:23 See ver. 8
• 4. 17:23 [Mic. 3:11; 7:3]
• 5. 17:24 [ch. 14:6; 15:14; Eccles. 2:14]; See Deut. 30:11-14
• 6. 17:25 [See ver. 21 above]
• 7. 17:25 ch. 10:1
• 8. 17:25 ch. 23:25
• 9. 17:26 [ver. 15]
• 10. 17:27 ch. 10:19; [James 1:19]
• 11. 17:28 Job 13:5

Footnotes

• [a] 17:23 Hebrew 'a bribe from the bosom'