1Better is a dry morsel with quiet

than a house full of feasting with strife.

2A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully,

and will share the inheritance as one of the family.

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

but the LORD tests the heart.

4An evildoer listens to wicked lips;

and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.

5Those who mock the poor insult their Maker;

those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

6Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,

and the glory of children is their parents.

7Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;

still less is false speech to a ruler.17.7 Or a noble person

8A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of those who give it;

wherever they turn they prosper.

9One who forgives an affront fosters friendship,

but one who dwells on disputes will alienate a friend.

10A rebuke strikes deeper into a discerning person

than a hundred blows into a fool.

11Evil people seek only rebellion,

but a cruel messenger will be sent against them.

12Better to meet a she-bear robbed of its cubs

than to confront a fool immersed in folly.

13Evil will not depart from the house

of one who returns evil for good.

14The beginning of strife is like letting out water;

so stop before the quarrel breaks out.

15One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous

are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

16Why should fools have a price in hand

to buy wisdom, when they have no mind to learn?

17A friend loves at all times,

and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.

18It is senseless to give a pledge,

to become surety for a neighbour.

19One who loves transgression loves strife;

one who builds a high threshold invites broken bones.

20The crooked of mind do not prosper,

and the perverse of tongue fall into calamity.

21The one who begets a fool gets trouble;

the parent of a fool has no joy.

22A cheerful heart is a good medicine,

but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.

23The wicked accept a concealed bribe

to pervert the ways of justice.

24The discerning person looks to wisdom,

but the eyes of a fool to the ends of the earth.

25Foolish children are a grief to their father

and bitterness to her who bore them.

26To impose a fine on the innocent is not right,

or to flog the noble for their integrity.

27One who spares words is knowledgeable;

one who is cool in spirit has understanding.

28Even fools who keep silent are considered wise;

when they close their lips, they are deemed intelligent.