17Better is a dry morsel with quiet
   than a house full of feasting with strife.
²A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully,
   and will share the inheritance as one of the family.
³The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
   but the Lord tests the heart.
⁴An evildoer listens to wicked lips;
   and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.
⁵Those who mock the poor insult their Maker;
   those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
⁶Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
   and the glory of children is their parents.
⁷Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
   still less is false speech to a ruler.^*
8A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of those who give it;
   wherever they turn they prosper.
⁹One who forgives an affront fosters friendship,
   but one who dwells on disputes will alienate a friend.
¹⁰A rebuke strikes deeper into a discerning person
   than a hundred blows into a fool.
¹¹Evil people seek only rebellion,
   but a cruel messenger will be sent against them.
¹²Better to meet a she-bear robbed of its cubs
   than to confront a fool immersed in folly.
¹³Evil will not depart from the house
   of one who returns evil for good.
¹⁴The beginning of strife is like letting out water;
   so stop before the quarrel breaks out.
¹⁵One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous
   are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
¹⁶Why should fools have a price in hand
   to buy wisdom, when they have no mind to learn?
¹⁷A friend loves at all times,
   and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.
¹⁸It is senseless to give a pledge,
   to become surety for a neighbour.
¹⁹One who loves transgression loves strife;
   one who builds a high threshold invites broken bones.
²⁰The crooked of mind do not prosper,
   and the perverse of tongue fall into calamity.