Proverbs Chapter 17
Showing all 28 verses for Proverbs Chapter 17.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife. "
"A dry crust of bread eaten in peace beats a house full of feasting eaten amid constant arguing."
Don't chase a bigger table if it costs you peace at that table. I'd always choose you sitting down to something small in a home full of calm over a feast surrounded by tension and resentment.
"A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren. "
"A capable servant can end up ranking above a family's disgraceful son, even sharing in the family inheritance."
I don't rank people by their birth, title, or where they started - I look at character. However humble your position looks right now, live wisely and faithfully, because that's what actually elevates a person in the end.
"The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts. "
"Silver gets tested by a crucible and gold by a furnace - but it's God who tests what's inside a person's heart."
When life puts pressure on you and tests what you're really made of, don't panic - that process, however uncomfortable, is what refines you into something more genuine. I'm more interested in what's true underneath than in a polished surface.
"A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue. "
"A wrongdoer listens eagerly to lies, and a liar pays close attention to malicious talk."
Notice what kind of talk you're drawn to and who you enjoy listening to - it says something real about you. I want you tuning your ear towards truth and goodness, even when gossip or lies would be more entertaining in the moment.
"Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished. "
"Whoever mocks a poor person is really insulting God who made them, and celebrating someone else's disaster won't go unpunished."
Never let anyone's poverty or misfortune become a joke to you - every person you look down on is someone I love just as much as you. Treat the struggling and the failing with the same respect you'd want if the situation were reversed.
"Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers. "
"Grandchildren are the pride and joy of the elderly, and children take pride in their parents."
Invest in your family relationships across generations - they're not incidental to a good life, they're part of the point of it. Whatever stage you're at, there's honour to be found and given within your own family line.
"Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince. "
"Eloquent talk doesn't suit a fool, and dishonest talk suits a ruler even less."
Whatever your position, let your words actually match your character - don't dress up foolishness in fine language, and never let leadership tempt you into dishonesty. I hold those with influence to the highest standard of truthfulness.
"A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth. "
"A bribe looks like a lucky charm to the person giving it - it seems to work wherever they use it."
Just because something 'works' doesn't make it right - I want you evaluating your methods by their integrity, not just their results. Don't let effectiveness become your only measure of whether something is worth doing.
"He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends. "
"Someone who lets a wrong go without dwelling on it is pursuing love, but someone who keeps bringing it up drives close friends apart."
When someone wrongs you and you've genuinely dealt with it, let it stay dealt with - don't dig it back up every time you're frustrated. Real love chooses to move forward together rather than keeping score.
"A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool. "
"A single word of correction sinks in deeper for a wise person than a hundred beatings would for a fool."
I care much more about whether your heart is open to correction than about how harsh a lesson you needed. Stay teachable - it's the single quality that will save you from repeating the same painful mistakes.
"An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him. "
"A wicked person is set on rebellion, so harsh consequences will eventually come for them."
If you feel constantly drawn to fight everything and everyone, ask what that's really costing you. I'd rather you channel that fire into something constructive than let rebellion for its own sake bring harsh consequences down on you.
"Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly. "
"You'd be safer running into a mother bear whose cubs were just taken than confronting a fool who's set on being foolish."
Be careful how much energy you spend trying to reason with someone determined to stay foolish - sometimes the wisest move is to protect yourself and step back, not to keep engaging. I don't ask you to argue with a wall.
"Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house. "
"Whoever repays kindness with harm invites trouble to stick around their household permanently."
However someone has wronged you, don't let it curdle into repaying their past kindness with harm - that kind of bitterness poisons your own home far more than theirs. Choose gratitude over grudges, even when it's hard.
"The beginning of strife is as when one lefteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with. "
"Starting an argument is like breaching a dam - once the water's out, you can't stop it, so walk away before the conflict even begins."
The best time to avoid a fight is before it starts, not once it's already spiralling. I want you walking away from unnecessary conflict early - it takes far more courage to hold your tongue than to win the argument.
"He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD. "
"Calling a guilty person innocent and calling an innocent person guilty are both things God detests equally."
When you're judging a situation - at work, in a friendship, wherever - be honest in both directions. Don't excuse wrongdoing because you like someone, and don't blame someone unfairly because you don't; I ask for real fairness, not convenient fairness.
"Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it? "
"What's the point of a fool having the money to buy wisdom, when they have no real desire to actually learn it?"
I can put wisdom and opportunity in front of you constantly, but I can't want it for you - that part has to come from your own heart. Ask yourself honestly whether you actually want to grow, or just want to look like you're trying.
"A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. "
"A real friend loves consistently, and family exists precisely for the hard times."
Be the friend who shows up when things get hard, not just when things are easy - that's when love actually proves itself real. I've loved you at your worst moments as much as your best, and I ask you to love others the same way.
"A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend. "
"Someone lacking good sense shakes hands on a deal, agreeing to cover someone else's debt."
Think carefully before taking on someone else's financial risk, even for people you love - generosity is good, but reckless financial entanglement can hurt you both. Wisdom means caring for someone without losing your own footing.
"He loveth transgression that loveth strife: and he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction. "
"Whoever loves conflict actually loves wrongdoing, and whoever builds themselves up too high is asking for a fall."
Check your own heart when you notice you enjoy an argument more than the truth being sorted out - that enjoyment is worth being honest with yourself about. And watch for pride dressing itself up as strength; it's usually setting up its own fall.
"He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief. "
"A twisted heart never finds real good, and a dishonest tongue leads straight into trouble."
Tend to what's happening inside you, because it doesn't stay hidden - it shapes your words and eventually your circumstances. I want to help you deal with the roots, not just manage the symptoms.
"He that begetheth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy. "
"Having a foolish child brings a parent grief, and there's no joy in raising a fool."
If you're a parent grieving your child's choices, I see that pain and it's real - it's named honestly here, not dismissed. Keep loving them without giving up hope, but don't pretend the sorrow isn't genuine.
"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. "
"A cheerful heart is as good as medicine, but a crushed spirit saps the strength right out of your body."
Don't dismiss your own low moments as unimportant, and don't dismiss someone else's either - a broken spirit really does drain a person, body and all. Chase real joy, and be gentle with people who are struggling; you might be their medicine.
"A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment. "
"A corrupt person accepts a hidden bribe to twist justice in someone's favour."
Whatever authority or influence you're given, don't let money or favours quietly bend your judgement - integrity means being just even when no one would ever find out. I care about what you do in secret as much as what you do in public.
"Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth. "
"A person with understanding keeps their focus on wisdom right in front of them, while a fool's attention wanders to the ends of the earth."
Stop looking far away for the answers you actually need close to home - wisdom is usually available right in front of you, in the situation you're already in. I want your attention grounded, not scattered chasing distractions.
"A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him. "
"A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitter sorrow to the mother who bore him."
If you're a young person reading this, know that your choices ripple out to the people who love you most - not to control you with guilt, but because your life is genuinely bound up with theirs. Choose wisdom partly as a gift back to the people who gave you everything.
"Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity. "
"It's wrong to punish someone who's innocent, and it's wrong to strike leaders for simply being fair."
Never let someone's honesty or fairness become the reason you turn against them - that's punishing the very quality that should be honoured. Stand up for people who are being penalised for doing the right thing.
"He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. "
"A knowledgeable person doesn't waste words, and someone with real understanding stays calm and even-tempered."
You don't need to fill every silence or win every conversation to prove what you know. I'd rather see you calm and measured than constantly performing your intelligence - real wisdom is quiet confidence, not noise.
"Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutheth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. "
"Even a fool who keeps quiet can be mistaken for wise - someone who holds their tongue is thought to have understanding."
Silence is a genuinely powerful tool - use it wisely, not just to seem clever, but because restraint really does serve you and others well. I'd rather you develop real understanding underneath the silence, not just the appearance of it.