Study

17. Proverbs of Solomon

    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 Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool—
   how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

    ⁸ A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives 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 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—
   the LORD detests them both.

    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 A foolish son brings grief to his father
   and bitterness to the mother who bore him.

    ²⁶ If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good,
   surely to flog honest officials is not right.

    ²⁷ The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint,
   and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.

    ²⁸ Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent,
   and discerning if they hold their tongues.