Proverbs — Chapter 17
Better a dry crust with peaceThan a house full of feasting with strife.
A capable servant will dominate an incompetent sonAnd share the inheritance with the brothers.
For silver—the crucible,For gold—the furnace,And GOD tests the mind.
An evildoer listens to mischievous talk;A liar gives ear to malicious words.
One who mocks the poor affronts their Maker;One who rejoices over another’s misfortune will not go unpunished.
Grandchildren are the crown of their elders,And the glory of children is their parents.
Lofty words are not fitting for a villain,Much less lying words for a noble.
A bribe seems like a charm to its user;It brings success at every turn.
One who seeks love overlooks faults,But one who harps on a matter alienates friends.
A rebuke works on an intelligent personMore than one hundred blows on a fool.
Evildoers seek only to rebel;A ruthless messenger will be sent against them.
Sooner meet a bereaved she-bearThan a fool immersed in nonsense.
Evil will never depart from the houseOf one who repays good with evil.
To start a quarrel is to open a sluice;Before a dispute flares up,aflares up Meaning of Heb. uncertain. drop it.
To acquit the guilty and convict the innocent—Both are an abomination to GOD.
What good is money in the hand of a foolTo purchase wisdom, when that person has no mind?
A friend is devoted at all times;A sibling is born to share adversity.
Devoid of sense are the people who give their handTo stand surety for their fellows.
One who loves transgression loves strife;One who builds a high threshold invites broken bones.
Crooked minds come to no good,And the double-tongued fall into trouble.
One begets a dullard to one’s own grief;The father of a villain has no joy.
A joyful heart makes for good health;bgood health Or “a cheerful face”; meaning of Heb. uncertain. Despondency dries up the bones.
The wicked draw bribes out of their bosomTo pervert the course of justice.
Wisdom lies before the intelligent;The eyes of dullards range to the ends of the earth.
A stupid son is vexation for his fatherAnd a heartache for the woman who bore him.
To punish an innocent is surely not right,Or to flog the great for their uprightness.
One who is knowledgeable is sparing with words;A man of understanding is reticent.
Even fools who keep silent are deemed wise;Intelligent, while their mouthcmouth Lit. “lips.” is shut.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Hadith (An-Nawawi 13)
“None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
Mahabharata 5.1517
“One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself.”
Dhammapada 10:1
“All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.”
The Path to Wisdom
Dhammapada 20:282
“Wisdom springs from meditation; without meditation wisdom wanes.”
Analects 2:11
“If you study the past and use it to understand the present, you are worthy of being a teacher.”
Tao Te Ching 33
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.”
Quran 39:9
“Are those who know equal to those who do not know?”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Dhammapada 1:1-2
“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
Bhagavad Gita 16:21
“There are three gates to self-destructive hell: lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, one must learn to give these up.”