Proverbs 17

¹Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith,

²A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame,

³The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold:

⁴A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips;

⁵Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker:

⁶Children’s children are the crown of old men;

⁷Excellent speech becometh not a fool:

⁸A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it:

⁹He that covereth a transgression seeketh love;

¹⁰A reproof entereth more into a wise man

¹¹An evil man seeketh only rebellion:

¹²Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man,

¹³Whoso rewardeth evil for good,

¹⁴The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water:

¹⁵He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just,

¹⁶Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool

¹⁷A friend loveth at all times,

¹⁸A man void of understanding striketh hands,

¹⁹He loveth transgression that loveth strife:

²⁰He that hath a froward heart findeth no good:

²¹He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow:

²²A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:

²³A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom

²⁴Wisdom is before him that hath understanding;

²⁵A foolish son is a grief to his father,

²⁶Also to punish the just is not good,

²⁷He that hath knowledge spareth his words:

²⁸Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: