THE GOOD FRIEND LOVES AT ALL TIMES
Key verse: 17
NIV
17 Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
than a house full of feasting, with strife.(A)
2 A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son
and will share the inheritance as one of the family.
4 A wicked person listens to deceitful lips;
a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.
5 Whoever mocks the poor(D) shows contempt for their Maker;(E)
whoever gloats over disaster(F) will not go unpunished.(G)
6 Children’s children(H) are a crown to the aged,
and parents are the pride of their children.
7 Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool—
how much worse lying lips to a ruler!(I)
8 A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives it;
they think success will come at every turn.(J)
9 Whoever would foster love covers over an offense,(K)
but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.(L)
10 A rebuke impresses a discerning person
more than a hundred lashes a fool.
11 Evildoers foster rebellion against God;
the messenger of death will be sent against them.
12 Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
than a fool bent on folly.(M)
14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;
so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.(P)
16 Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom,
when they are not able to understand it?(S)
17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity.(T)
18 One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge
and puts up security for a neighbor.(U)
19 Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin;
whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.
20 One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper;
one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.
21 To have a fool for a child brings grief;
there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.(V)
24 A discerning person keeps wisdom in view,
but a fool’s eyes(AA) wander to the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son brings grief to his father
and bitterness to the mother who bore him.(AB)
26 If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good,(AC)
surely to flog honest officials is not right.
27 The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint,(AD)
and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.(AE)
28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent,
and discerning if they hold their tongues.(AF)
Cross references
- Proverbs 17:1 : S Pr 15:16, 17; S 16:8
- Proverbs 17:3 : Pr 27:21
- Proverbs 17:3 : S 1Ch 29:17; Ps 26:2; S 139:23; 1Pe 1:7
- Proverbs 17:5 : S Job 5:16
- Proverbs 17:5 : Pr 14:31
- Proverbs 17:5 : S Job 31:29
- Proverbs 17:5 : Eze 25:3; Ob 1:12
- Proverbs 17:6 : S Ps 128:5-6
- Proverbs 17:7 : Pr 16:10
- Proverbs 17:8 : S Ex 23:8; Pr 19:6
- Proverbs 17:9 : S Pr 10:12
- Proverbs 17:9 : Pr 16:28
- Proverbs 17:12 : S 1Sa 25:25
- Proverbs 17:13 : S 1Sa 19:4
- Proverbs 17:13 : S Ge 44:4; S Ps 35:12
- Proverbs 17:14 : Mt 5:25-26
- Proverbs 17:15 : S Ps 94:21; S Pr 18:5
- Proverbs 17:15 : Ex 23:6-7; Isa 5:23; La 3:34-36
- Proverbs 17:16 : Pr 23:23
- Proverbs 17:17 : S 2Sa 15:21; Pr 27:10
- Proverbs 17:18 : Pr 6:1-5; S 11:15; 22:26-27
- Proverbs 17:21 : S Pr 10:1
- Proverbs 17:22 : S Ps 38:8
- Proverbs 17:22 : S Ex 12:46; Pr 14:30; S 15:13; 18:14
- Proverbs 17:23 : S Ex 18:21; S 23:8; S 1Sa 8:3
- Proverbs 17:23 : S Job 34:33
- Proverbs 17:24 : S Job 31:1
- Proverbs 17:25 : S Pr 10:1
- Proverbs 17:26 : S Ps 94:21
- Proverbs 17:27 : S Job 6:24
- Proverbs 17:27 : S Pr 14:29
- Proverbs 17:28 : S Job 2:13; 13:5; S Pr 10:19
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway
ESV
17 (A)Better is a dry morsel with quiet
than a house full of feasting[a] with strife.
2 A servant who deals wisely will rule over (B)a son who acts shamefully
and (C)will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
3 (D)The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
(E)and the Lord tests hearts.
4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
5 Whoever mocks the poor (F)insults his Maker;
he who is (G)glad at calamity will not go (H)unpunished.
6 (I)Grandchildren are (J)the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.
7 Fine speech is not (K)becoming to a fool;
still less is (L)false speech to a prince.
8 (M)A bribe is like a magic[b] stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
wherever he turns he prospers.
9 Whoever (N)covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter (O)separates close friends.
10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.
11 An evil man seeks only rebellion,
and (P)a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 Let a man meet (Q)a she-bear robbed of her cubs
(R)rather than a fool in his folly.
13 If anyone (S)returns evil for good,
(T)evil will not depart from his house.
14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
so (U)quit before the quarrel breaks out.
15 He who (V)justifies the wicked and he who (W)condemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
16 Why should a fool have money in his hand (X)to buy wisdom
when he has no sense?
17 (Y)A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
18 One who lacks sense gives a pledge
and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
19 Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
he who (Z)makes his door high seeks destruction.
20 (AA)A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
21 He who (AB)sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
and the father of a fool has no joy.
22 (AC)A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit (AD)dries up the bones.
23 The wicked accepts (AE)a bribe in secret[c]
to (AF)pervert the ways of justice.
24 (AG)The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25 (AH)A foolish son is a grief to his father
(AI)and bitterness to (AJ)her who bore him.
26 (AK)To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
27 Whoever (AL)restrains his words has knowledge,
and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28 Even a fool (AM)who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 17:1 Hebrew sacrifices
- Proverbs 17:8 Or precious
- Proverbs 17:23 Hebrew a bribe from the bosom
Cross references
- Proverbs 17:1 : ch. 15:17
- Proverbs 17:2 : ver. 21, 25; ch. 10:5; 19:26
- Proverbs 17:2 : [2 Sam. 16:4]
- Proverbs 17:3 : ch. 27:21
- Proverbs 17:3 : 1 Chr. 29:17; Ps. 26:2; Jer. 17:10; Mal. 3:3
- Proverbs 17:5 : ch. 14:31; [Matt. 25:40, 45]
- Proverbs 17:5 : Job 31:29; Obad. 12; [ch. 24:17]
- Proverbs 17:5 : ch. 16:5
- Proverbs 17:6 : Ps. 128:6; [Ps. 127:3, 4]
- Proverbs 17:6 : ch. 16:31
- Proverbs 17:7 : [ch. 19:10; 26:1]
- Proverbs 17:7 : ch. 6:17
- Proverbs 17:8 : ver. 23; ch. 18:16; 19:6; 21:14; [Ex. 23:8; Isa. 1:23; Amos 5:12]
- Proverbs 17:9 : ch. 10:12
- Proverbs 17:9 : ch. 16:28
- Proverbs 17:11 : [1 Kgs. 2:29]
- Proverbs 17:12 : 2 Sam. 17:8; Hos. 13:8
- Proverbs 17:12 : [ch. 27:3]
- Proverbs 17:13 : Ps. 35:12; 109:4, 5; [ch. 20:22; Matt. 5:39]
- Proverbs 17:13 : [2 Sam. 12:10]
- Proverbs 17:14 : ch. 20:3; 25:8
- Proverbs 17:15 : ch. 24:24; Ex. 23:7; Isa. 5:23
- Proverbs 17:15 : Job 34:17; Ps. 94:21; [ver. 26; ch. 18:5]
- Proverbs 17:16 : [ch. 23:23]
- Proverbs 17:17 : ch. 18:24; 27:10; [Ruth 1:16; Job 6:14]
- Proverbs 17:19 : [ch. 11:2; 29:23]
- Proverbs 17:20 : [ch. 11:20]
- Proverbs 17:21 : ch. 10:1; 19:13
- Proverbs 17:22 : See ch. 15:13
- Proverbs 17:22 : Ps. 22:15; [ch. 12:25]
- Proverbs 17:23 : See ver. 8
- Proverbs 17:23 : [Mic. 3:11; 7:3]
- Proverbs 17:24 : [ch. 14:6; 15:14; Eccles. 2:14]; See Deut. 30:11-14
- Proverbs 17:25 : [See ver. 21 above]; ch. 10:1; 19:13
- Proverbs 17:25 : ch. 10:1
- Proverbs 17:25 : ch. 23:25
- Proverbs 17:26 : [ver. 15]
- Proverbs 17:27 : ch. 10:19; [James 1:19]
- Proverbs 17:28 : Job 13:5
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
Prayer: Lord, thank you for testing my heart to be like pure gold and silver. Let me discern good and bad in my daily life.
One Word: Jesus, our everlasting friend