1 *ch. 15:17Better is a dry morsel with quiet

than a house full of feasting*17:1 Hebrew sacrifices with strife.

2 A servant who deals wisely will rule over *ver. 21, 25;ch. 10:5;19:26a son who acts shamefully

and *[2 Sam. 16:4]will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

3 *ch. 27:21The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

*1 Chr. 29:17;Ps. 26:2;Jer. 17:10;Mal. 3:3and 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 *ch. 14:31;[Matt. 25:40,45] insults his Maker;

he who is *Job 31:29;Obad. 12;[ch. 24:17] glad at calamity will not go *ch. 16:5unpunished.

6 *Ps. 128:6;[Ps. 127:3,4] Grandchildren are *ch. 16:31the crown of the aged,

and the glory of children is their fathers.

7 Fine speech is not *[ch. 19:10;26:1] becoming to a fool;

still less is *ch. 6:17false speech to a prince.

8 *ver. 23;ch. 18:16;19:6;21:14;[Ex. 23:8;Isa. 1:23;Amos 5:12]A bribe is like a magic*17:8 Or precious stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;

wherever he turns he prospers.

9 Whoever *ch. 10:12covers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter *ch. 16:28separates 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 *[1 Kgs. 2:29]a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

12 Let a man meet *2 Sam. 17:8;Hos. 13:8a she-bear robbed of her cubs

*[ch. 27:3]rather than a fool in his folly.

13 If anyone *Ps. 35:12;109:4,5;[ch. 20:22;Matt. 5:39] returns evil for good,

*[2 Sam. 12:10]evil will not depart from his house.

14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

so *ch. 20:3;25:8quit before the quarrel breaks out.

15 He who *ch. 24:24;Ex. 23:7;Isa. 5:23justifies the wicked and he who *Job 34:17;Ps. 94:21;[ver. 26;ch. 18:5]condemns the righteous

are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

16 Why should a fool have money in his hand *[ch. 23:23]to buy wisdom

when he has no sense?

17 *ch. 18:24;27:10;[Ruth 1:16;Job 6:14]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 *[ch. 11:2;29:23]makes his door high seeks destruction.

20 *[ch. 11:20]A man of crooked heart does not discover good,

and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.

21 He who *ch. 10:1;19:13sires a fool gets himself sorrow,

and the father of a fool has no joy.

22 *See ch. 15:13A joyful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit *Ps. 22:15;[ch. 12:25]dries up the bones.

23 The wicked accepts *See ver. 8a bribe in secret*17:23 Hebrew a bribe from the bosom

to *[Mic. 3:11;7:3]pervert the ways of justice.

24 *[ch. 14:6;15:14;Eccles. 2:14]; See Deut. 30:11-14The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,

but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

25 *[See ver. 21above] A foolish son is a grief to his father

*ch. 10:1and bitterness to *ch. 23:25her who bore him.

26 *[ver. 15]To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,

nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

27 Whoever *ch. 10:19;[James 1:19]restrains his words has knowledge,

and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

28 Even a fool *Job 13:5who keeps silent is considered wise;

when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.