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Proverbs 17
1Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of feasting with strife.
2A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who causes shame, and shall have a part in the inheritance among the brothers.
3The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the hearts.
4An evildoer heeds wicked lips. A liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
5Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker. He who is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.
6Children’s children are the of old men; the glory of children is their parents.
7Excellent speech isn’t fitting for a fool, much less do lying lips fit a prince.
8A bribe is a precious stone in the eyes of him who gives it; wherever he turns, he prospers.
9He who covers an offense promotes love; but he who repeats a matter separates best friends.
10A rebuke enters deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred lashes into a fool.
11An evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.
12Let a bear robbed of her cubs meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.
13Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
14The beginning of strife is like breaching a dam, therefore stop contention before quarreling breaks out.
15He who the wicked, and he who condemns the , both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.
16Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, since he has no understanding?
17A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity.
18A man void of understanding strikes hands, and becomes collateral in the presence of his neighbor.
19He who loves disobedience loves strife. One who builds a high gate seeks destruction.
20One who has a perverse heart doesn’t find prosperity, and one who has a deceitful tongue falls into trouble.
21He who becomes the father of a fool grieves. The father of a fool has no joy.
22A cheerful heart makes good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
23A wicked man receives a bribe in secret, to pervert the ways of justice.
24Wisdom is before the face of one who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth.
25A foolish son brings grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him.
26Also to punish the is not good, nor to flog officials for their integrity.
27He who spares his words has knowledge. He who is even tempered is a man of understanding.
28Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is counted wise. When he shuts his lips, he is thought to be discerning.
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Questions this passage answers
How do I stop committing the same sin over and over?
Scripture answers a repeated sin by changing what the believer reckons to be true, then by naming the ordinary means: consider yourself dead to sin, stop presenting your body to it, bring it out of secrecy by confession, walk by the Spirit, and remove what feeds the desire. It does not promise a single moment that ends the struggle, and it does not treat repeated falling as proof that grace has run out.
How do I trust God when life is difficult?
Biblical trust is not a feeling you generate. It is leaning your weight on what God has revealed about himself, especially when your circumstances suggest otherwise. Scripture builds trust the same way every time: by remembering what God has already done, telling him the truth about what you feel now, and obeying the next small thing while the outcome is still hidden.
How do I know God's will for my life?
Scripture speaks of God's will in two ways. His revealed will is what he has already told us plainly and is not in doubt: holiness, love, gratitude, obedience. His hidden will concerns the future and is not given to us in advance. The Bible directs almost all its attention to the first, and it teaches us to make wise decisions inside it rather than to decode secret guidance.
What does it mean to fear the Lord?
The fear of the LORD is not terror of an unpredictable God. It is the reverence of a creature who has rightly understood who God is, holy, sovereign and near, and who therefore takes him seriously in every decision. Proverbs calls it the beginning of knowledge, because a person who has not reckoned with God has not yet begun to understand anything rightly.