Proverbs 17

¹⁷Better a dish of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred.

¹⁶Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.

¹⁹Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.

⁹Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

⁵He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

³⁵A king delights in a wise servant, but his anger falls on the shameful.

¹³Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.

²⁶He who assaults his father or evicts his mother is a son who brings shame and disgrace.

²⁹He who brings trouble on his house will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.

¹⁵A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.

¹⁰See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

¹⁰I, the Lord, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.

²Test me, O Lord, and try me; examine my heart and mind.

²¹A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise accorded him.

¹⁷I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You.

⁷so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

³For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.

⁴So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

⁴Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.

⁵They are of the world. That is why they speak from the world’s perspective, and the world listens to them.

¹⁰They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.

³¹The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?

³One of the heads of the beast appeared to have been mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast.

⁴They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?”

³¹Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.

²⁹If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin, or exulted when evil befell him—

¹⁷If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?

¹¹On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them.

¹²But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress.

⁵Everyone who is proud in heart is detestable to the Lord; be assured that he will not go unpunished.

¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.

³Children are indeed a heritage from the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.

⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one’s youth.

³¹Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.

²²A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous.

³Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.

⁴In this way indeed shall blessing come to the man who fears the Lord.

¹⁴God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

¹⁵God also told Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.

¹²Nevertheless, for the sake of your father David, I will not do it during your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

¹²If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be wicked.

¹⁶To the wicked, however, God says, “What right have you to recite My statutes and to bear My covenant on your lips?

¹⁷For you hate My instruction and cast My words behind you.

³I will set no worthless thing before my eyes. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.

⁴A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know nothing of evil.

¹⁰A divine verdict is on the lips of a king; his mouth must not betray justice.

¹¹Honest scales and balances are from the Lord; all the weights in the bag are His concern.

⁵You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

¹⁹Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

⁸Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.

³Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.

²³Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.

³⁵Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him, and he said to her, “Go home in peace. See, I have heeded your voice and granted your request.”

¹²For I know that your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous. You oppress the righteous by taking bribes; you deprive the poor of justice in the gate.

²³A wicked man takes a covert bribe to subvert the course of justice.

¹²Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.

⁸Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

²⁸A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends.

¹Of David. A Maskil. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

¹⁹Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.

⁸Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

⁹Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.

²⁵Strike a mocker, and the simple will beware; rebuke the discerning man, and he will gain knowledge.

⁵Let the righteous man strike me; let his rebuke be an act of loving devotion. It is oil for my head; let me not refuse it. For my prayer is ever against the deeds of the wicked.

⁵A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction is prudent.

¹A wise son heeds his father’s discipline, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke.

⁴⁶Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was firmly established in the hand of Solomon.

¹⁵And ten young men who carried Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him.

⁵As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and as he approached, he kept yelling out curses.

⁶He threw stones at David and at all the servants of the king, though the troops and all the mighty men were on David’s right and left.

⁸He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will not spend the night with the troops.

⁸Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast tearing them apart.

³A stone is heavy and sand is a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both.

¹⁵Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.

²⁴Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

¹⁶When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.

⁴In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.

⁵They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

¹²For it is not an enemy who insults me; that I could endure. It is not a foe who rises against me; from him I could hide.

¹³But it is you, a man like myself, my companion and close friend.

⁹Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.

²⁰Those who repay my good with evil attack me for pursuing the good.

¹²They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul.

³It is honorable for a man to resolve a dispute, but any fool will quarrel.

⁸do not bring hastily to court. Otherwise, what will you do in the end when your neighbor puts you to shame?

²³But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling.

²⁴And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.

¹¹and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.

⁸The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.

⁹Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.

³²He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.

⁷Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty.

²³who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.

⁵Showing partiality to the wicked is not good, nor is depriving the innocent of justice.

²³These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.

²⁴Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;

¹²“Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.

²⁵The craving of the slacker kills him because his hands refuse to work.

²⁶All day long he covets more, but the righteous give without restraint.

²³Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding.

⁴“To you, O men, I call out, and my cry is to the sons of men.

⁵O simple ones, learn to be shrewd; O fools, gain understanding.

¹⁵The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.

²⁶‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”

²⁷For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’

²⁹If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it might be well with them and with their children forever.

²⁴A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

¹³Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

¹⁴You are My friends if you do what I command you.

¹⁷And Jonathan had David reaffirm his vow out of love for him, for Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.

¹⁶But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.

³Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

⁷All the brothers of a poor man hate him—how much more do his friends avoid him! He may pursue them with pleading, but they are nowhere to be found.

¹⁵He who puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but the one who hates indebtedness is secure.

¹My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge with a stranger,

²if you have been trapped by the words of your lips, ensnared by the words of your mouth,

²⁶Do not be one who gives pledges, who puts up security for debts.

²⁷If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?

¹⁶Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

¹⁶Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹²Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

³⁶When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light.

³⁷In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these events, and his heart failed within him, and he became like a stone.

¹⁴But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.

¹⁵Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

²⁰for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.

²⁷Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field; after that, you may build your house.

⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,

³¹The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out.

¹⁰He who winks the eye causes grief, and foolish lips will come to ruin.

¹²The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.

⁶A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.

⁷A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.

²⁶to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

¹The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.

¹³A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.

²⁰A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

²⁵A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.

³⁴When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.

³²You will see distress in My dwelling place. Despite all that is good in Israel, no one in your house will ever again reach old age.

³³And every one of you that I do not cut off from My altar, I will cause your eyes to fail and your heart to grieve. All your descendants will die by the sword of men.

¹³A joyful heart makes a cheerful countenance, but sorrow of the heart crushes the spirit.

²⁵Anxiety weighs down the heart of a man, but a good word cheers it up.

¹⁴The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but who can survive a broken spirit?

¹⁰Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

⁷Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:

⁸Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head.

²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

³Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

³Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.

¹⁹Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

⁸Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.

⁸A bribe is a charm to its giver; wherever he turns, he succeeds.

²³Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.

³But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice.

¹⁴The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.

¹Who is like the wise man? Who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.

⁶A mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.

³⁷Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.

⁵When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.

¹⁷If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own.

¹The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.

¹³A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.

²⁰A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

¹After some time, David’s son Amnon fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of David’s son Absalom.

²Amnon was sick with frustration over his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed implausible for him to do anything to her.

¹⁸I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.

¹⁹And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

¹⁵Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable to the Lord.

⁵Showing partiality to the wicked is not good, nor is depriving the innocent of justice.

²²When Jesus had said this, one of the officers standing nearby slapped Him in the face and said, “Is this how You answer the high priest?”

¹⁸who says to kings, ‘You are worthless!’ and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’

¹⁹who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.

¹Now, O daughter of troops, mobilize your troops; for a siege is laid against us! With a rod they will strike the cheek of the judge of Israel.

³⁹And I am weak this day, though anointed as king, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too fierce for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil!”

¹⁸Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.

¹⁹My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

¹⁹When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.

²⁹A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.

²⁸The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil.

²We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.

⁵If only you would remain silent; for that would be your wisdom!

²The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.

¹⁴Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming, and who can tell him what will come after him?

³As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.

³Even as the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking, and he shows everyone that he is a fool.