Proverbs 17:1-15

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

17 Better is a dry morsel with quiet
    than a house full of feasting with strife.
² A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully,
    and will share the inheritance as one of the family.
³ The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
    but the Lord tests the heart.
⁴ An evildoer listens to wicked lips;
    and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.
⁵ Those who mock the poor insult their Maker;
    those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
⁶ Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
    and the glory of children is their parents.
⁷ Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
    still less is false speech to a ruler.^[a]
8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of those who give it;
    wherever they turn they prosper.
⁹ One who forgives an affront fosters friendship,
    but one who dwells on disputes will alienate a friend.
¹⁰ A rebuke strikes deeper into a discerning person
    than a hundred blows into a fool.
¹¹ Evil people seek only rebellion,
    but a cruel messenger will be sent against them.
¹² Better to meet a she-bear robbed of its cubs
    than to confront a fool immersed in folly.
¹³ Evil will not depart from the house
    of one who returns evil for good.
¹⁴ The beginning of strife is like letting out water;
    so stop before the quarrel breaks out.
¹⁵ One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous
    are both alike an abomination to the Lord.