Help QuickNav Adv. Options
NKJV

NKJV

Click to Change

Return to Top

Return to Top

Printer Icon

Print

Format by: Verse Paragraph
Strong's
Red Letter
Audio Bibles
Cite Print
The Blue Letter Bible

Proverbs 17 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

Choose a new font size and typeface
Audio Bibles
CHAPTER 17
The LORD Tests Hearts
​
1 Better is a dry morsel with quietness,
​​Than a house full of feasting[fn] with strife.
​
2 ​​A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame,
​​And will share an inheritance among the brothers.
​
3 ​​The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
​​But the LORD tests the hearts.
​
4 ​​An evildoer gives heed to false lips;
​​A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue.
​
5 ​​He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker;
​​He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
​
6 ​​Children’s children are the crown of old men,
​​And the glory of children is their father.
​
7 ​​Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool,
​​Much less lying lips to a prince.
​
8 ​​A present is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor;
​​Wherever he turns, he prospers.
​
9 ​​He who covers a transgression seeks love,
​​But he who repeats a matter separates friends.
​
10 ​​Rebuke is more effective for a wise man
​​Than a hundred blows on a fool.
​
11 ​​An evil man seeks only rebellion;
​​Therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
​
12 ​​Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs,
​​Rather than a fool in his folly.
​
13 ​​Whoever rewards evil for good,
​​Evil will not depart from his house.
​
14 ​​The beginning of strife is like releasing water;
​​Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts.
​
15 ​​He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just,
​​Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.
​
16 ​​Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom,
​​Since he has no heart for it?
​
17 ​​A friend loves at all times,
​​And a brother is born for adversity.
​
18 ​​A man devoid of understanding shakes hands in a pledge,
​​And becomes surety for his friend.
​
19 ​​He who loves transgression loves strife,
​​And he who exalts his gate seeks destruction.
​
20 ​​He who has a deceitful heart finds no good,
​​And he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil.
​
21 ​​He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow,
​​And the father of a fool has no joy.
​
22 ​​A merry heart does good, like medicine,[fn]
​​But a broken spirit dries the bones.
​
23 ​​A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back[fn]
​​To pervert the ways of justice.
​
24 ​​Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding,
​​But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
​
25 ​​A foolish son is a grief to his father,
​​And bitterness to her who bore him.
​
26 ​​Also, to punish the righteous is not good,
​​Nor to strike princes for their uprightness.
​
27 ​​He who has knowledge spares his words,
​​And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.
28 ​​Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace;
​​When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.
See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NKJV Footnotes
Or sacrificial meals
Or makes medicine even better
Literally from the bosom
NKJV

New King James Version, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) appearing on or deriving from this or any other web page is for personal use only. Any other use of the NKJV must be in conformity with the Quotation Policy for the New King James Version. For more information about the New King James Version, the Quotation Policy, and for inquiries about permission to use the New King James Version, go to Thomas Nelson, Inc..

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

BLB Searches
Search the Bible
NKJV
  [?]

Advanced Options

Other Searches

Multi-Verse Retrieval
x
NKJV
Daily Devotionals
x

Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.

Daily Bible Reading Plans
x

Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

One-Year Plans

Two-Year Plan

Proverbs Chapter 17 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New Living Translation New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras