Proverbs 17 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

The LORD Tests Hearts

Pro 17:1

Pro 17:1Better is a dry morsel with quietness,
Than a house full of feasting[fn] with strife.

Pro 17:2

Pro 17:2A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame,
And will share an inheritance among the brothers.

Pro 17:3

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

Pro 17:4

Pro 17:4An evildoer gives heed to false lips;
A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue.

Pro 17:5

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

Pro 17:6

Pro 17:6Children’s children are the crown of old men,
And the glory of children is their father.

Pro 17:7

Pro 17:7Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool,
Much less lying lips to a prince.

Pro 17:8

Pro 17:8A present is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor;
Wherever he turns, he prospers.

Pro 17:9

Pro 17:9He who covers a transgression seeks love,
But he who repeats a matter separates friends.

Pro 17:10

Pro 17:10Rebuke is more effective for a wise man
Than a hundred blows on a fool.

Pro 17:11

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

Pro 17:12

Pro 17:12Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs,
Rather than a fool in his folly.

Pro 17:13

Pro 17:13Whoever rewards evil for good,
Evil will not depart from his house.

Pro 17:14

Pro 17:14The beginning of strife is like releasing water;
Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts.

Pro 17:15

Pro 17:15He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just,
Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.

Pro 17:16

Pro 17:16Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom,
Since he has no heart for it?

Pro 17:17

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

Pro 17:18

Pro 17:18A man devoid of understanding shakes hands in a pledge,
And becomes surety for his friend.

Pro 17:19

Pro 17:19He who loves transgression loves strife,
And he who exalts his gate seeks destruction.

Pro 17:20

Pro 17:20He who has a deceitful heart finds no good,
And he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil.

Pro 17:21

Pro 17:21He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow,
And the father of a fool has no joy.

Pro 17:22

Pro 17:22A merry heart does good, like medicine,[fn]
But a broken spirit dries the bones.

Pro 17:23

Pro 17:23A wicked man accepts a bribe behind the back[fn]
To pervert the ways of justice.

Pro 17:24

Pro 17:24Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding,
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 17:26Also, to punish the righteous is not good,
Nor to strike princes for their uprightness.

Pro 17:27

Pro 17:27He who has knowledge spares his words,
And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.

Pro 17:28

Pro 17:28Even 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

(17:1)

Or sacrificial meals

(17:22)

Or makes medicine even better

(17:23)

Literally from the bosom

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