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Proverbs 17 (RSV)

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¹ 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. ²¹ A stupid son is a grief to a father; and the father of a fool has no joy. ²² A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones. ²³ A wicked man accepts a bribe from the bosom to pervert the ways of justice. ²⁴ A man of understanding sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. ²⁵ A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him. ²⁶ To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good; to flog noble men is wrong. ²⁷ He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. ²⁸ Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.