잠언 17

¹Better a dry crust eaten in peace \q than a house full of feasting and quarrels. ²A servant with good sense will end up over a son who brings disgrace, \q and will get a share of the inheritance with the brothers. ³Silver is tried in the crucible and gold in the furnace, \q but it is the LORD who tests the heart. ⁴Evildoers pay attention to wicked talk; \q liars listen eagerly to malicious words. ⁵Whoever mocks the poor insults the One who made them; \q whoever gloats over disaster will not escape punishment. ⁶Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly, \q and children take pride in their parents. ⁷Eloquent words do not suit a fool; \q still less do lies suit a leader. ⁸A bribe seems like a lucky charm to the one who gives it; \q wherever he turns, it works. ⁹Whoever forgives a wrong builds up love, \q but whoever keeps bringing it up drives friends apart. ¹⁰A single rebuke does more for a person of understanding \q than a hundred lashes for a fool. ¹¹The wicked are bent only on rebellion, \q so a merciless messenger will be sent against them. ¹²Facing a mother bear robbed of her cubs is safer \q than facing a fool in the middle of his folly. ¹³If anyone pays back good with evil, \q evil will never leave their house. ¹⁴Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; \q so drop it before the fight bursts out. ¹⁵Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent: \q the LORD detests them both. ¹⁶What use is money in a fool’s hand to buy wisdom, \q when he has no mind to learn? ¹⁷A friend is loving through every season, \q and a brother is born to stand with you in trouble. ¹⁸Only someone with no sense shakes hands on a pledge \q and puts up security for a neighbor. ¹⁹Whoever loves quarrels loves sin; \q whoever builds a high gate invites ruin. ²⁰A crooked heart finds nothing good, \q and a deceitful tongue lands in trouble. ²¹To raise a fool is to grieve; \q the father of a fool knows no joy. ²²A cheerful heart heals like medicine, \q but a broken spirit saps the body’s strength. ²³The wicked accept a bribe slipped from a pocket \q to twist the course of justice. ²⁴The discerning keep wisdom in view, \q but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth. ²⁵A son who is a fool is a sorrow to his father \q and a bitter grief to the mother who bore him. ²⁶It is wrong to fine the innocent, \q or to flog officials for their honesty. ²⁷Whoever holds back words has knowledge, \q and someone with a steady spirit has understanding.^{a 28}Even fools are thought wise if they keep quiet; \q if they close their lips, they seem discerning.