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Proverbs 17 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

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Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:1 - Better is a dry morsel with quiet
than a house full of feasting[fn] with strife.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:2 - A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully
and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:3 - The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and the LORD tests hearts.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:4 - An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:5 - Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:6 - Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:7 - Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
still less is false speech to a prince.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:8 - A bribe is like a magic[fn] stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
wherever he turns he prospers.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:9 - Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:10 - A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:11 - An evil man seeks only rebellion,
and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:12 - Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs
rather than a fool in his folly.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:13 - If anyone returns evil for good,
evil will not depart from his house.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:14 - The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:15 - He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the LORD.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:16 - Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
when he has no sense?
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:17 - A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:18 - One who lacks sense gives a pledge
and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:19 - Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:20 - A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:21 - He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
and the father of a fool has no joy.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:22 - A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:23 - The wicked accepts a bribe in secret[fn]
to pervert the ways of justice.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:24 - The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:25 - A foolish son is a grief to his father
and bitterness to her who bore him.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:26 - To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:27 - Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,
and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 17:28 - Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
ESV Footnotes
Hebrew sacrifices
Or precious
Hebrew a bribe from the bosom
ESV

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

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