Proverbs 17 — TOJB

17Verse 1Better is a dry crust, and quietness therewith,
than a bais full of zevakhim (sacrificial religious meals) with strife.
^{Verse 2}An eved maskil (wise servant) shall have rule over a ben that causeth shame,
and shall have a share of the nachalah among the achim.
^{Verse 3}The crucible is for kesef, and the furnace for zahav,
but Hashem is the testor of hearts.
^{Verse 4}An evildoer giveth heed to false sfatayim (lips),
and a sheker (liar) giveth ear to a spiteful lashon.
^{Verse 5}He who mocketh the poor showeth contempt for his Oseh (Maker),
and he that gloats at calamities shall not go unpunished.
^{Verse 6}Bnei banim are the ateret of zekenim;
and the tiferet of banim are their avot.
^{Verse 7}Eloquent speech becometh not a naval (fool),
much less do lying sfatayim (lips) a ruler.
^{Verse 8}A shochad (gift, bribe) is like a charm in the eynayim of him that hath it:
wherever he turneth, he prospereth.
^{Verse 9}He that covereth a peysha (transgression) seeketh love;
but he that repeateth a matter separateth the best of friends.
^{Verse 10}Ge'arah (scolding) goeth deeper into a meiven
than a hundred blows into a kesil (fool).
^{Verse 11}A rah seeketh only rebellion;
therefore a merciless malach shall be sent to him.
^{Verse 12}Let an ish meet a dov robbed of her cubs
rather than a kesil in his folly.
^{Verse 13}He who rewardeth ra'ah for tovah,
ra'ah shall not depart from his bais.
^{Verse 14}The beginning of madon (strife) is like releasing mayim,
therefore stop contention before a quarrel begins.
^{Verse 15}He that justifieth the rashah,
and he that condemneth the tzaddik,
even they both are to'evah to Hashem.
^{Verse 16}Why is there the purchase price in the yad of a kesil (fool) to acquire chochmah,
seeing he hath no lev for it?
^{Verse 17}The re'a (friend) loveth at all times,
and a brother is born for tzarah (adversity).
^{Verse 18}Adam devoid of lev⁺shaketh hands in pledge,
and becometh the security deposit for his neighbor.
^{Verse 19}He loveth peysha (transgression, sin) that loveth strife,
and he that maketh his threshold high seeketh shever (fracture).
^{Verse 20}He that hath a crooked mind findeth no tov,
and he that hath a deceitful lashon falleth into ra'ah.
^{Verse 21}He that begetteth a kesil doeth it to his sorrow,
and the avi naval hath no simchah.
^{Verse 22}A lev same'ach doeth tov like a medicine,
but a downcast ruach drieth up the bones.
^{Verse 23}A rasha accepts a shochad (bribe) out of the kheyk (bosom),⁺
to pervert the orkhot mishpat (paths of justice).
^{Verse 24}Chochmah is before the meiven (discerning one);
but the eynayim of a kesil are on the ends of ha'aretz.
^{Verse 25}A ben kesil is a ka'as (grief) to aviv (his father),
and bitterness to her that bore him.
^{Verse 26}Also to punish the tzaddik is not tov,
nor to flog officials for their yashar (uprightness, integrity).
^{Verse 27}He that hath da'as spareth his words,
and an ish tevunah (man of understanding) is of a calm ruach.
^{Verse 28}Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted chacham,
and he that shutteth his sfatayim (lips) is esteemed a man of understanding.