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