Relations and Righteousness: Peace, Speech, and Integrity
Proverbs 17:1-28
1Better is a dry morsel and ease in it than a house full of sacrifices of strife.2A prudent servant will rule over a son who brings shame, and among brothers he will divide an inheritance.3The crucible is for silver and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts.4An evil person listens to lips of evil deception; he listens to a tongue of desire.5Whoever mocks the poor taunts his maker; whoever is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.6The crown of the aged is their grandchildren, and the glory of children is their fathers.7Excellent speech is not fitting for a fool; much less are lying lips fitting for a noble.8A bribe is like a stone of favor in the eyes of its owner; it turns wherever it turns to gain advantage.9Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but whoever repeats a matter separates close friends.10A rebuke goes deeper into a person of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.11An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.12Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly.13If anyone returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.14The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.15Whoever justifies the wicked and whoever condemns the righteous are both an abomination to the LORD.16Why should a price be in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom when he has no sense?17A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.18A man lacking sense strikes hands in pledge and becomes surety in the presence of his neighbor.19Whoever loves transgression loves strife; he who makes his door high seeks destruction.20A man of crooked heart finds no good, and he who has a perverse tongue falls into calamity.21He who fathers a fool fathers sorrow for himself, and the father of a fool has no joy.22A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.23The wicked accepts a bribe from the bosom to pervert the ways of justice.24Wisdom is before the face of the one who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.25A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.26To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good, nor to flog nobles for their uprightness.27Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.28Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips he is deemed intelligent.