# Chapter 17
1 Better a dry crust with peace
than a house full of feasting with strife.
2 A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son
and share an inheritance among brothers.
3 A crucible for silver, and a smelter for gold,
and the Lord is the tester of hearts.
4 A wicked person listens to malicious talk;
a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.
5 The one who mocks the poor insults his Maker,
and one who rejoices over calamity
will not go unpunished.
6 Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly,
and the pride of children is their fathers.
7 Eloquent words are not appropriate on a fool’s lips;
how much worse are lies for a ruler.
8 A bribe seems like a magic stone to its owner;
wherever he turns, he succeeds.
9 Whoever conceals an offense promotes love,
but whoever gossips about it separates friends.
10 A rebuke cuts into a perceptive person
more than a hundred lashes into a fool.
11 An evil person desires only rebellion;
a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 Better for a person to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
than a fool in his foolishness.
13 If anyone returns evil for good,
evil will never depart from his house.
14 To start a conflict is to release a flood;
stop the dispute before it breaks out.
15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the just—
both are detestable to the Lord.
16 Why does a fool have money in his hand
with no intention of buying wisdom?
17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a difficult time.
18 One without sense enters an agreement
and puts up security for his friend.
19 One who loves to offend loves strife;
one who builds a high threshold invites injury.
20 One with a twisted mind will not succeed,
and one with deceitful speech will fall into ruin.
21 A man fathers a fool to his own sorrow;
the father of a fool has no joy.
22 A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
23 A wicked person secretly takes a bribe
to subvert the course of justice.
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.
26 It is certainly not good to fine an innocent person
or to beat a noble for his honesty.
27 The one who has knowledge restrains his words,
and one who keeps a cool head
is a person of understanding.
28 Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent—
discerning, when he seals his lips.