Proverbs 17
Big idea: This run goes indoors. Its subjects are the ones that only show up at close range — a household eating badly but quietly, an offence covered rather than repeated, a friend who turns up in the bad year, a father with nothing to be glad about. It closes on a joke the book plays straight: keep your mouth shut and even a fool passes for wise. The couplets remain independent; the domesticity is what the editors gathered.
Chapter 17 is a run set indoors, among households and friends. Chapter 18 is another from the same collection, weighted heavily toward what speech does.
17:1–14 — A friend loves at all times
Fourteen couplets about life at close quarters. Two of them price peace above provision (verse 1, echoing 15:17), two describe covering someone's failure rather than circulating it, and the run ends with the best piece of practical advice in the chapter: quarrels are hydraulic, so stop them at the trickle.
1 Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of feasting with strife. 2 A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who causes shame, and shall have a part in the inheritance among the brothers. 3 The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but Yahweh tests the hearts. 4 An evildoer heeds wicked lips. A liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue. 5 Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker. He who is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished. 6 Children’s children are the crown of old men; the glory of children is their parents. 7 Excellent speech isn’t fitting for a fool, much less do lying lips fit a prince. 8 A bribe is a precious stone in the eyes of him who gives it; wherever he turns, he prospers. 9 He who covers an offense promotes love; but he who repeats a matter separates best friends. 10 A rebuke enters deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred lashes into a fool. 11 An evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him. 12 Let a bear robbed of her cubs meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly. 13 Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house. 14 The beginning of strife is like breaching a dam, therefore stop contention before quarreling breaks out.
17:15–28 — Even a fool, when he keeps silent
Fourteen couplets, and the one everybody knows is verse 17 — though its second line, usually dropped, is what makes it a definition rather than a sentiment. The run also contains the book's clearest statement that mood is physical, and closes on a genuinely funny observation about silence that is nonetheless practical advice.
15 He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh. 16 Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, since he has no understanding? 17 A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity. 18 A man void of understanding strikes hands, and becomes collateral in the presence of his neighbor. 19 He who loves disobedience loves strife. One who builds a high gate seeks destruction. 20 One who has a perverse heart doesn’t find prosperity, and one who has a deceitful tongue falls into trouble. 21 He who becomes the father of a fool grieves. The father of a fool has no joy. 22 A cheerful heart makes good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. 23 A wicked man receives a bribe in secret, to pervert the ways of justice. 24 Wisdom is before the face of one who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth. 25 A foolish son brings grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him. 26 Also to punish the righteous is not good, nor to flog officials for their integrity. 27 He who spares his words has knowledge. He who is even tempered is a man of understanding. 28 Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is counted wise. When he shuts his lips, he is thought to be discerning.
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).