Proverbs 17
1 It is better to have quiet with a dry morsel of bread than a house full of feasting with strife.
It is better [to eat] a dry piece [of bread] and not have strife/quarrels than to have a big feast in a house where [everyone] is quarreling.
2 A wise servant will rule over a son who acts shamefully and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
A slave who acts wisely will [some day] be the boss of his master’s disgraceful son and when his master dies, the slave will receive part of his master’s possessions.
3 The crucible is for silver and the furnace is for gold, but Yahweh refines hearts.
[Workers put] silver and gold in a very hot furnace [to burn out what is impure], and Yahweh [similarly] examines people’s inner beings [to see if they are pure].
4 The evildoer pays attention to wicked lips; a liar gives ear to a destructive tongue.
Those who do what is evil pay attention to people who say [MTY] what is evil, and liars pay attention to [other people’s] lies.
5 Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker and the one who rejoices at misfortune will not go unpunished.
Those who make fun of poor [people] insult God, the one who made the poor [people], [and] those who are happy when [someone else has] troubles will certainly be punished [LIT] [by God].
6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged and parents bring honor to their children.
Old [people] are [usually] proud of [MET] their grandchildren, [just like] children are [usually] proud of their parents.
7 Eloquent speech is not suitable for a fool; much less are lying lips suitable for royalty.
Fine/Eloquent speech is not suitable for foolish people to say, just like lies are not suitable for rulers [to say].
8 A bribe is like a magic stone to the one who gives it; wherever he turns, he succeeds.
People think that a bribe is like a magic stone [to persuade someone to do what they want him to do]; they think that because of the bribe, that person will do whatever they want him to do.
9 Whoever overlooks an offense seeks love, but the one who repeats a matter alienates close friends.
If you want people to like/love you, forgive them for the wrong things that they do to you. If you continue to remind them about those wrong things, they will no longer be your friends.
10 A rebuke goes deeper into a person who has understanding than a hundred blows go into a fool.
Rebuking people who have good sense will accomplish more for them than hitting them 100 times [with a stick].
11 An evil person only seeks rebellion, so a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
[Because] wicked people are always trying to cause trouble, someone will be sent to severely punish them.
12 It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than to meet a fool in his foolishness.
A mother bear whose cubs have been taken away from her is dangerous, but it is more dangerous to confront a foolish person who is doing something foolish.
13 When someone returns evil for good, evil will never leave his house.
If someone does something evil in return for something good being done to him, evil/trouble will never leave that person’s family.
14 The beginning of conflict is like one who releases water everywhere, so walk away from the dispute before it has broken out.
Starting a quarrel is like allowing water to start to leak out of a dam; they both need to be stopped before they get worse.
15 The person who acquits the wicked person and the person who condemns the righteous person— both are an abomination to Yahweh.
There are two things that Yahweh hates: (Condemning innocent [people]/Saying that people who have done nothing wrong must be punished), and declaring that people who have done wicked things should not be punished.
16 Why should a fool pay money to learn about wisdom, when he has no ability to learn it?
It is useless to allow foolish people [RHQ] to try to become wise by paying for it, because they do not have enough good sense to become wise.
17 A friend is loving at all times and a brother is born for times of trouble.
Friends love [others] all the time, and relatives are able to help us when we have troubles.
18 A man having no sense makes binding promises and becomes responsible for his neighbor's debts.
[If someone borrows money from another person], it is foolish for you to promise [IDM] that you will pay the money back if that other person is unable to pay back the money that he borrowed.
19 Whoever loves conflict loves sin; the one who makes the threshold of his door too high causes bones to be broken.
Those who like to sin [also] like to cause strife/trouble; [and] those who build fancy doors in their houses [to show that they are very wealthy] (OR, speak proudly) are inviting disaster.
20 A person who has a crooked heart finds nothing that is good; the one who has a perverse tongue falls into calamity.
Those who (have perverse minds/are always thinking about doing evil things) will not prosper, and disasters will happen to those who always tell lies.
21 Whoever is the parent of a fool brings grief to himself; and the father of a fool has no joy.
Children who are foolish [soon] cause their parents to be very sad; their parents will not be joyful at all.
22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
Being cheerful is [like swallowing] good medicine; being discouraged/gloomy [all the time will] (drain away your energy/cause you to become weak) [MTY].
23 A wicked man accepts a secret bribe to pervert the ways of justice.
Wicked people/judges accept bribes that are given to them secretly, and as a result they do not decide matters justly/fairly.
24 The one who has understanding sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are set on the ends of the earth.
Those who have good sense determine to do what is wise, but foolish people are always thinking about many different things [and never decide what they should do].
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to the woman who bore him.
Children who are foolish cause their father to be sad and [also] cause their mother to be very sorrowful.
26 Also, it is never good to punish the righteous person; neither is it good to flog noble men who have integrity.
It is not right to force someone who has done nothing wrong to pay a fine; it is wrong to punish good/respected people.
27 One who has knowledge uses few words and one with understanding is even-tempered.
Those who have good sense do not talk a lot, and those who (control their tempers/keep themselves from becoming very angry) are [truly] wise.
28 Even a fool is thought to be wise if he keeps silent; when he keeps his mouth shut, he is considered to be intelligent.
People [may] think that foolish people who do not say anything are wise; if foolish people (do not say anything/keep their mouths shut), others will think that they are [very] intelligent.
