1Better is a dry morsel with quiet

than a house full of feasting17:1 Hebrew sacrifices with strife.

2A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully

and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

3The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

and the LORD tests hearts.

4An evildoer listens to wicked lips,

and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

5Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;

he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

6Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,

and the glory of children is their fathers.

7Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;

still less is false speech to a prince.

8A bribe is like a magic17:8 Or precious stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;

wherever he turns he prospers.

9Whoever covers an offence seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

10A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding

than a hundred blows into a fool.

11An evil man seeks only rebellion,

and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

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

rather than a fool in his folly.

13If anyone returns evil for good,

evil will not depart from his house.

14The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

15He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous

are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

16Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom

when he has no sense?

17A friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for adversity.

18One who lacks sense gives a pledge

and puts up security in the presence of his neighbour.

19Whoever loves transgression loves strife;

he who makes his door high seeks destruction.

20A man of crooked heart does not discover good,

and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.

21He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,

and the father of a fool has no joy.

22A joyful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

23The wicked accepts a bribe in secret17:23 Hebrew a bribe from the bosom

to pervert the ways of justice.

24The discerning sets his face towards wisdom,

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

25A foolish son is a grief to his father

and bitterness to her who bore him.

26To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,

nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

27Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,

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

28Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;

when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.