PROVERBS 17 [†]  m Better is a dry morsel with quiet

than a house full of feasting [1] with strife.

2[†] A servant who deals wisely will rule over  n a son who acts shamefully

and  o will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

3[^][†]  p The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

 q and 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  r insults his Maker;

he who is  s glad at calamity will not go  t unpunished.

6[†]  u Grandchildren are  v the crown of the aged,

and the glory of children is their fathers.

7[†] Fine speech is not  w becoming to a fool;

still less is  x false speech to a prince.

8[†]  y A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;

wherever he turns he prospers.

9[†] Whoever  z covers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter  a separates 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  b a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

12 Let a man meet  c a she-bear robbed of her cubs

 d rather than a fool in his folly.

13 If anyone  e returns evil for good,

 f evil will not depart from his house.

14[†] The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

so  g quit before the quarrel breaks out.

15[†] He who  h justifies the wicked and he who  i condemns the righteous

are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

16[†] Why should a fool have money in his hand  j to buy wisdom

when he has no sense?

17  k A 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  l makes his door high seeks destruction.

20[†]  m A man of crooked heart does not discover good,

and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.

21 He who  n sires a fool gets himself sorrow,

and the father of a fool has no joy.

22  o A joyful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit  p dries up the bones.

23[†] The wicked accepts  q a bribe in secret [2]

to  r pervert the ways of justice.

24  s The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,

but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

25[†]  n A foolish son is a grief to his father

 t and bitterness to  u her who bore him.

26[†]  v To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,

nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

27[†] Whoever  w restrains his words has knowledge,

and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

28 Even a fool  x who keeps silent is considered wise;

when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.