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Proverbs 17

The TorahRooted Bible (TRB), translated directly from the Hebrew and Greek.

1 Better is a dry morsel with quietness than a house full of feasting with quarreling. 2 A servant who acts wisely will rule over a son who brings shame, and will share the inheritance among the brothers. 3 The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, but Yahweh tests hearts. 4 An evildoer gives heed to wicked lips; a liar listens to a destructive tongue. 5 Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; whoever is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. 6 Children's children are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers. 7 Excellent speech is not fitting for a fool; still less are lying lips for a noble. 8 A bribe is a stone that brings favor in the eyes of the one who uses it; wherever he turns, he prospers. 9 Whoever covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. 10 A rebuke goes deeper into one who understands than a hundred blows into a fool. 11 An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him. 12 Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly. 13 Whoever returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house. 14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so leave off before the quarrel breaks out. 15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to Yahweh. 16 Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, when he has no sense?

17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. 18 A man lacking sense strikes hands in pledge and becomes surety in the presence of his neighbor. 19 He who loves transgression loves strife; he who makes his door high seeks destruction. 20 One with a crooked heart finds no good, and one with a twisted tongue falls into evil. 21 He who fathers a fool does so to his sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy. 22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. 23 A wicked man takes a bribe from the bosom to pervert the paths of justice. 24 Wisdom is before the face of one who understands, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. 25 A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him. 26 Also, to fine the righteous is not good, nor to strike nobles for their uprightness.

27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and whoever keeps a calm spirit is a man of understanding. 28 Even a fool who keeps silent is counted wise; when he closes his lips, he is counted discerning.

Notes

  • 17:1 "Feasting" is literally "sacrifices" (zevachim): the meat of offerings such as the peace offering was eaten at home with family and guests (see the note at 7:14). A house full of such feasts but full of quarreling is worse than dry bread eaten in peace.
  • 17:8 Proverbs often simply describes how the world works without approving it. This is how a bribe looks to the one who uses it, a lucky stone that opens every door; but verse 23 calls the man who takes one wicked, and the Torah forbids it, "for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous" (Exodus 23:8).
  • 17:17 The two lines may say one thing, that a true friend proves to be a brother in hard times, or set two things side by side, a friend's steady love and a brother's help in trouble. Either way, love is tested in adversity (compare 18:24).
  • 17:27 Here the written Hebrew text (ketiv) has qar ruach, "cool of spirit," while the traditional reading (qere), which the TRB follows, has yeqar ruach, "precious" or "sparing of spirit." Both describe the same man: one who holds his spirit in check as he holds back his words, and "keeps a calm spirit" fits either reading.
  • 17:28 Job told his friends the same: "Oh, that you would keep completely silent, and it would be your wisdom!" (Job 13:5). Silence does not make a fool wise, but it keeps him from showing his folly (compare 18:2).

Proverbs 16 · Proverbs 18

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