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17:1  Better is a dry crust, and quietness therewith, than a bais full of zevakhim (sacrificial religious meals) with strife.
17:2  An eved maskil (wise servant) shall have rule over a ben that causeth shame, and shall have a share of the nachalah among the achim.
17:3  The crucible is for kesef, and the furnace for zahav, but Hashem is the testor of hearts.
17:4  An evildoer giveth heed to false sfatayim (lips), and a sheker (liar) giveth ear to a spiteful lashon.
17:5  He who mocketh the poor showeth contempt for his Oseh (Maker), and he that gloats at calamities shall not go unpunished.
17:6  Bnei banim are the ateret of zekenim; and the tiferet of banim are their avot.
17:7  Eloquent speech becometh not a naval (fool), much less do lying sfatayim (lips) a ruler.
17:8  A shochad (gift, bribe) is like a charm in the eynayim of him that hath it: wherever he turneth, he prospereth.
17:9  He that covereth a peysha (transgression) seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth the best of friends.
17:10  Ge’arah (scolding) goeth deeper into a meiven than a hundred blows into a kesil (fool).
17:11  A rah seeketh only rebellion; therefore a merciless malach shall be sent to him.
17:12  Let an ish meet a dov robbed of her cubs rather than a kesil in his folly.
17:13  He who rewardeth ra’ah for tovah, ra’ah shall not depart from his bais.
17:14  The beginning of madon (strife) is like releasing mayim, therefore stop contention before a quarrel begins.
17:15  He that justifieth the rashah, and he that condemneth the tzaddik, even they both are to’evah to Hashem.
17:16  Why is there the purchase price in the yad of a kesil (fool) to acquire chochmah, seeing he hath no lev for it?
17:17  The re’a (friend) loveth at all times, and a brother is born for tzarah (adversity).
17:18  Adam devoid of lev [of understanding] shaketh hands in pledge, and becometh the security deposit for his neighbor.
17:19  He loveth peysha (transgression, sin) that loveth strife, and he that maketh his threshold high seeketh shever (fracture).
17:20  He that hath a crooked mind findeth no tov, and he that hath a deceitful lashon falleth into ra’ah.
17:21  He that begetteth a kesil doeth it to his sorrow, and the avi naval hath no simchah.
17:22  A lev same’ach doeth tov like a medicine, but a downcast ruach drieth up the bones.
17:23  A rasha accepts a shochad (bribe) out of the kheyk (bosom, i.e., secretly) to pervert the orkhot mishpat (paths of justice).
17:24  Chochmah is before the meiven (discerning one); but the eynayim of a kesil are on the ends of ha’aretz.
17:25  A ben kesil is a ka’as (grief) to aviv (his father), and bitterness to her that bore him.
17:26  Also to punish the tzaddik is not tov, nor to flog officials for their yashar (uprightness, integrity).
17:27  He that hath da’as spareth his words, and an ish tevunah (man of understanding) is of a calm ruach.
17:28  Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted chacham, and he that shutteth his sfatayim (lips) is esteemed a man of understanding.