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than a house filled with feasting and strife.
2 A wise servant will rule over a disgraceful son,
and will share an inheritance along with the brothers.
3 The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold,
but the Lord tests the heart.
4 An evildoer gives heed to false lips;
a liar pays attention to a malicious tongue.
5 He who mocks the poor insults his Maker;
whoever is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and parents are the pride of their children.
7 Fine speech is unfitting when coming from a fool’s lips;
how much worse lying lips from a ruler!
8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
wherever he turns, he succeeds.
9 He who covers over an offence promotes love,
but whoever repeats the gossip separates close friends.
10 A rebuke cuts deeper into a discerning man
than a hundred lashes into a fool.
11 An evil man seeks only rebellion;
a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
than be to caught up with a fool in his folly.
13 Whoever rewards evil for good,
evil will never depart from his house.
14 To start a conflict is like releasing a flood;
so quench the dispute before the quarrel breaks out.
15 Those who acquit the guilty and condemn the innocent
are both alike detestable before the Lord.
16 Of what use is money to a fool
if it is not in his heart to firstly purchase wisdom?
17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
18 A man lacking in understanding strikes hands in pledge,
and puts up surety for a friend.
19 He who loves to offend loves conflict;
he who erects a high gate invites destruction.
20 He who has a crooked heart does not prosper;
he who has a deceitful tongue falls into ruin.
21 The man who fathers a fool of a son does so to his own sorrow;
there is no joy in store for the father of a fool.
22 A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
23 A wicked man receives a bribe in secret
to pervert the course of justice.
24 A discerning man looks to wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father
and bitterness to the one who bore him.
26 It is not good to punish the innocent,
or to flog a noble for his integrity.
27 One who spares his words has knowledge,
and a man of understanding keeps a cool head.
28 Even a fool is counted wise when he remains silent,
and discerning, when he keeps his lips closed.