Proverbs 17:1-17

1 Better a dry morsel and quiet with it than a house filled [with] feasts of strife.

2 A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully, and in the midst of brothers he will share his inheritance.

3 A crucible [is] for the silver, and a furnace [is] for the gold, but Yahweh will test hearts.

4 He who does evil listens to lips of wickedness, [and] the liar gives heed to the tongue of mischief.

5 He who mocks the poor insults him who made him; he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

6 The crown of the elderly [are] {grandchildren}, and the glory of children [is] their fathers.

7 {Fine speech} [is] not becoming a fool, {still less} [is] {false speech} for a ruler.

8 The bribe [is] a stone of magic in the eyes of its owner; {everywhere} he will turn, he will prosper.

9 He who forgives an affront fosters love, but he who waits on a matter will alienate a friend.

10 A rebuke strikes him who understands deeper than one hundred blows to a fool.

11 An evil person will seek only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

12 [May] a man meet a she-bear robbed of offspring and not a fool in his folly.

13 [For] he who returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.

14 [Like] the release of water [is] the beginning of strife; before it breaks out, stop the quarrel.

15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, the two of them [are] both abominations of Yahweh.

16 Why [is] this? A price in the hand of a fool, [in order] to buy wisdom where there is no {sense}.

17 The friend loves at all times, but a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 17:1-17 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]. Literally "sons of sons"
• [b]. Literally "A lip of fine[ness]"
• [c]. Literally "only for"
• [d]. Literally "lip of deceit"
• [e]. Or "master"
• [f]. Literally "to all which"
• [g]. Hebrew "and"
• [h]. Literally "heart"
• [i]. Hebrew "time"