DAY 17 - PROVERBS 17
Better a dry piece of bread with calm than a house full of food but also full of strife.
An intelligent slave will rule a shameful son and share the inheritance with the brothers.
The crucible [tests] silver, and the furnace [tests] gold, but the one who tests hearts is YAHWEH.
An evildoer heeds wicked lips; a liar listens to destructive talk. He who mocks the poor insults his maker; he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.
Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, while the glory of children is their ancestors.
Fine speech is unbecoming to a boor, and even less lying lips to a leader. A bribe works like a charm, in the view of him who gives it--wherever it turns, it succeeds. He who conceals an offense promotes love, but he who harps on it can separate even close friends.
A rebuke makes more impression on a person of understanding than a hundred blows on a fool. An evil person seeks only rebellion, but a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
Rather meet a bear robbed of its cubs than encounter a fool in his folly. Evil will not depart from the house of him who returns evil for good. Starting a fight is like letting water through [a dike]--better stop the quarrel before it gets worse. He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous—both alike are an abomination to YAHWEH.
Why would a fool wish to pay for wisdom when he has no desire to learn?
A friend shows his friendship at all times—it is for adversity that [such] a brother is born.
He who gives his hand to guarantee a loan for his neighbor lacks good sense.
Those who love quarreling love giving offense; those who make their gates tall are courting disaster. A crooked-hearted person will find nothing good, and the perverse of speech will end in calamity.
He who fathers a fool does so to his sorrow, and the father of a boor has no joy.
A happy heart is good medicine, but low spirits sap one's strength.
From under a cloak a bad man takes a bribe to pervert the course of justice. The discerning person focuses on wisdom there before him, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth.
A son who is a fool means anger for his father and bitterness for the mother who gave him birth.
To punish the innocent is not right, likewise to flog noble people for their uprightness.
A knowledgeable person controls his tongue; a discerning person controls his temper. Even a fool, if he stays silent, is thought wise; he who keeps his mouth shut can pass for smart.