Proverbs 17

²A wise servant is worth more than a shameful son. Hard work and wisdom matter more than your family name.

³Fire tests silver and gold to make them pure. God tests our hearts to know what is truly inside us.

⁴A wicked person loves to hear lies. A liar enjoys hearing bad things about others. Wrong people enjoy wrong words.

⁵If you mock a poor person, you are insulting God who made them. If you are happy when someone suffers, God will punish you.

⁶Grandchildren are the greatest gift for old people. Children find their glory in their parents. Family is a treasure.

⁷A foolish person saying great things sounds wrong. A leader who tells lies is even worse. Words must match who you are.

⁸A gift feels like a precious gem to the one who gives it. Wherever it goes, it seems to open doors.

⁹Forgiving a wrong done to you builds friendship. But telling everyone about it again and again destroys even best friends.

¹⁰A wise person listens when corrected. One word of correction reaches them deeply. A foolish person learns nothing even after many beatings.

¹¹A wicked person only wants to cause trouble and rebel. Because of this, God will send a harsh punishment against them.

¹²A mother bear that has lost her cubs is dangerous and wild. But a foolish person doing something foolish is even more dangerous. Folly is very risky.

¹³If someone does good to you and you repay them with evil, trouble will never leave your house. Evil for good brings lasting harm.

¹⁴Starting a fight is like opening a crack in a dam. Water rushes out fast. Stop the argument before it begins.

¹⁵God hates two things. Saying a guilty person is innocent. Saying an innocent person is guilty. Both are deeply wrong in His eyes.

¹⁶Why would a fool pay money to become wise? He does not really want wisdom in his heart. Money cannot buy a willing heart.

¹⁷A true friend loves you all the time. Not just when things are easy. A brother is made for the hard times.

¹⁸A person without wisdom makes promises they cannot keep. Agreeing to pay another person's debt is very unwise.

¹⁹If you love to fight, you love doing wrong. If you boast and show off too much, you are heading for destruction.

²⁰A twisted, stubborn heart finds no good in life. A person who speaks crooked words will fall into trouble.

²¹When a child grows up to be foolish, the parent carries great sorrow. A foolish child brings grief, not joy, to their parents.

²²A joyful heart heals you like medicine. But a sad, crushed spirit makes you weak all the way through.

²³A wicked person uses secret bribes to twist justice. They pay to make wrong seem right. God hates this.

²⁴A wise person sees wisdom right in front of them. A foolish person is always looking far away. Wisdom is here and now.

²⁵A foolish son makes his father deeply sad. He makes his mother feel bitter sorrow. Our choices touch our family.

²⁶It is wrong to punish someone who has done nothing wrong. It is wrong to harm a leader just for doing what is right.

²⁷A person who truly knows things uses few words. A person of understanding has a calm and excellent spirit.

²⁸Even a foolish person seems wise when they stay silent. Keeping your mouth shut makes people think you understand. Silence is often the wisest answer.