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Proverbs 17 (TNIV)

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¹ Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife. ² A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son and will share the inheritance as one of the family. ³ The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart. ⁴ A wicked person listens to deceitful lips; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue. ⁵ Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished. ⁶ Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children. ⁷ ⁸ A bribe is seen as a charm by those who give it; they think success will come at every turn. ⁹ Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. ¹⁰ A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool. ¹¹ Evildoers foster rebellion against God; the messenger of death will be sent against them. ¹² Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly. ¹³ Evil will never leave the house of one who pays back evil for good. ¹⁴ Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out. ¹⁵ ¹⁶ Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom, when they are not able to understand it? ¹⁷ A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity. ¹⁸ One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge and puts up security for a neighbor. ¹⁹ Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin; whoever builds a high gate invites destruction. ²⁰ One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper; one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble. ²¹ To have a fool for a child brings grief; there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool. ²² A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. ²³ The wicked accept bribes in secret to pervert the course of justice. ²⁴ A discerning person keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth. ²⁵ Foolish children bring grief to their father and bitterness to the mother who bore them. ²⁶ If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good, surely to flog honest officials is not right. ²⁷ Those who have knowledge use words with restraint, and those who have understanding are even-tempered. ²⁸ Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.