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Listen to this chapter • 3:07

[1] Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.

[2] A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

[3] The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts.

[4] An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

[5] Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

[6] Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.

[7] Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.

[8] A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.

[9] Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

[10] A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.

[11] An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

[12] Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly.

[13] If anyone returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.

[14] The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

[15] He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

[16] Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom when he has no sense?

[17] A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

[18] One who lacks sense gives a pledge and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.

[19] Whoever loves transgression loves strife; he who makes his door high seeks destruction.

[20] A man of crooked heart does not discover good, and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.

[21] He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy.

[22] A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

[23] The wicked accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the ways of justice.

[24] The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

[25] A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.

[26] To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good, nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

[27] Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

[28] Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Proverbs — Chapters