17:1 It is better to eat a dry crust of bread in ·peace [quiet] than to have a feast where there is ·quarreling [strife; contention].
17:2 A ·wise [insightful] servant will rule over the master’s disgraceful child and will even ·inherit a share of what the master leaves his children [L divide an inheritance with the brothers/relatives].
17:3 A crucible ·tests [or refines] silver and a furnace gold, but the Lord ·tests [or refines] hearts.
17:4 Evil people listen to ·evil words [L guilty lips]. Liars pay attention to ·cruel words [L a destructive tongue].
17:5 Whoever ·mistreats [ridicules; mocks] the poor insults their Maker; whoever enjoys someone’s trouble will ·be punished [L not go unpunished].
17:6 ·Old people are proud of their grandchildren [L Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly], and ·children are proud of [L the glory/splendor of children are] their parents.
17:7 ·Fools should not be proud [or It is not right for fools to be good speakers], and ·rulers [honorable people] should not ·be liars [L have lying lips].
17:8 ·Some people think they can pay others to do anything they ask [L A bribe is a magic stone in the eyes of those who give it]. ·They think it will work every time [L It grants success to all who use it].
17:9 ·Whoever forgives someone’s sin makes a friend [L One who seeks love conceals an offense], but ·gossiping about the sin [repeating a thing] breaks up friendships.
17:10 A wise person will learn more from a ·warning [rebuke] than a fool will learn from a hundred lashings.
17:11 Disobedient ·people look only for trouble [L seek only rebellion], so a cruel messenger will be sent against them.
17:12 It is ·better [safer] to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than to meet a fool doing foolish things.
17:13 Whoever gives evil in return for good will always have trouble at home.
17:14 Starting a quarrel is like ·a leak in a dam [L letting out water], so ·stop it [hold back an accusation] before a fight breaks out.
17:15 The Lord hates both of these things: ·freeing the guilty and punishing the innocent [L judging the righteous wicked and the wicked righteous].
17:16 It won’t do a fool any good to try to buy wisdom, because he doesn’t have the ability to be wise.
17:17 A friend loves you all the time, and a brother ·helps in [L is born for a] time of trouble.
17:18 ·It is not wise to promise to pay what your neighbor owes [L A person lacks sense/heart who shakes hands in agreement, who secures a loan for a friend/neighbor].
17:19 Whoever loves to argue loves to sin. Whoever ·brags a lot is asking for trouble [L builds a high doorway is seeking a collapse].
17:20 A person with an ·evil [crooked] heart will find no success, and the person ·whose words are evil [L who twists matters with their tongue] will get into trouble.
17:21 It is sad to have a foolish child; there is no joy in being the parent of a fool.
17:22 A happy heart ·is like good medicine [L brings healing], but a broken spirit ·drains your strength [L dries up bone].
17:23 When the wicked ·accept money to do wrong [take a secret bribe/L bribe from the chest/bosom] ·there can be no [it stretches] justice.
17:24 The person with understanding is always ·looking for [focused on] wisdom, but the mind of a fool wanders ·everywhere [L to the ends of the earth].
17:25 Foolish children make their father sad and cause their mother great ·sorrow [bitterness].
17:26 It is not good to punish the ·innocent [righteous] or to beat leaders for being honest.
17:27 The wise ·say very little [restrain/hold back their talk], and those with understanding stay ·calm [coolheaded].
17:28 Even fools seem to be wise if they keep quiet; if they ·don’t speak [L keep their lips shut], they appear to understand.
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