Proverbs 17:7-28

English Standard Version

⁷Fine speech is not ^(A)becoming to a fool;
    still less is ^(B)false speech to a prince.
⁸^(C)A bribe is like a magic^[a] stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
    wherever he turns he prospers.
⁹Whoever ^(D)covers an offense seeks love,
    but he who repeats a matter ^(E)separates close friends.
¹⁰A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
    than a hundred blows into a fool.
¹¹An evil man seeks only rebellion,
    and ^(F)a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
¹²Let a man meet ^(G)a she-bear robbed of her cubs
    ^(H)rather than a fool in his folly.
¹³If anyone ^(I)returns evil for good,
    ^(J)evil will not depart from his house.
¹⁴The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
    so ^(K)quit before the quarrel breaks out.
¹⁵He who ^(L)justifies the wicked and he who ^(M)condemns the righteous
    are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
¹⁶Why should a fool have money in his hand ^(N)to buy wisdom
    when he has no sense?
¹⁷^(O)A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for adversity.
¹⁸One who lacks sense gives a pledge
    and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
¹⁹Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
    he who ^(P)makes his door high seeks destruction.
²⁰^(Q)A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
    and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
²¹He who ^(R)sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
    and the father of a fool has no joy.
²²^(S)A joyful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit ^(T)dries up the bones.
²³The wicked accepts ^(U)a bribe in secret^[b]
    to ^(V)pervert the ways of justice.
²⁴^(W)The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
    but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
²⁵^(X)A foolish son is a grief to his father
    ^(Y)and bitterness to ^(Z)her who bore him.
²⁶^(AA)To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
    nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
²⁷Whoever ^(AB)restrains his words has knowledge,
    and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
²⁸Even a fool ^(AC)who keeps silent is considered wise;
    when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.