Proverbs 17 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

Pro 17:1Better is a dry morsel with quiet
than a house full of feasting[fn] with strife.

Pro 17:2A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully
and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

Pro 17:3

Pro 17:3The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and the LORD tests hearts.

Pro 17:4

Pro 17:4An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

Pro 17:5

Pro 17:5Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

Pro 17:6

Pro 17:6Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.

Pro 17:7

Pro 17:7Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
still less is false speech to a prince.

Pro 17:8

Pro 17:8A bribe is like a magic[fn] stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
wherever he turns he prospers.

Pro 17:9

Pro 17:9Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

Pro 17:10

Pro 17:10A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.

Pro 17:11

Pro 17:11An evil man seeks only rebellion,
and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

Pro 17:12

Pro 17:12Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs
rather than a fool in his folly.

Pro 17:13

Pro 17:13If anyone returns evil for good,
evil will not depart from his house.

Pro 17:14

Pro 17:14The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

Pro 17:15

Pro 17:15He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

Pro 17:16

Pro 17:16Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
when he has no sense?

Pro 17:17

Pro 17:17A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.

Pro 17:18

Pro 17:18One who lacks sense gives a pledge
and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.

Pro 17:19

Pro 17:19Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
he who makes his door high seeks destruction.

Pro 17:20

Pro 17:20A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.

Pro 17:21

Pro 17:21He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
and the father of a fool has no joy.

Pro 17:22

Pro 17:22A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Pro 17:23

Pro 17:23The wicked accepts a bribe in secret[fn]
to pervert the ways of justice.

Pro 17:24

Pro 17:24The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

Pro 17:25

Pro 17:25A foolish son is a grief to his father
and bitterness to her who bore him.

Pro 17:26

Pro 17:26To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

Pro 17:27

Pro 17:27Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,
and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Pro 17:28

Pro 17:28Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

See the ESV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

ESV Footnotes

(17:1)

Hebrew sacrifices

(17:8)

Or precious

(17:23)

Hebrew a bribe from the bosom

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