PROVERBS A CHAPTER A DAY

CHAPTER 17

THE COMMENTS ARE INTERLEAVED WITH THE TEXT

1

Better a dry morsel with quietness

    than a house full of feasting with strife.

2 

A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully,

    and will share the inheritance as one of the family.

REMINDS US THAT SLAVERY WAS ENDEMIC IN ALMOST ALL ANCIENT SOCIETIES

3 

The crucible for silver, and the furnace for gold,

    but the Lord tests the heart.

YES, OH YES.

4 

An evildoer listens to wicked lips;

    and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.

5 

Those who mock the poor insult their Maker;

    those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

IF SOMEONE WHO MOCKS THE POOR HAS A CALAMITY, ARE WE ALLOWED TO LAUGH?

6 

Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,

    and the glory of children is their parents.

7 

Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;

    still less is false speech to a ruler.

DECEPTION BY A RULER IS CONDEMNED SEVERAL TIMES IN PROVERBS, WHEREAS WE TAKE IT GOR GRANTED THAT RULERS WILL LIE.

8 

A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of those who give it;

    wherever they turn they prosper.

THE BISHOP OF HARROGATE,PARKING ON DOUBLE YELLOW LINES, LEFT A NOTE WITH A FIVER BEHIND HIS WIPERS SAYING, FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS, JOHN HARROGATE. WHEN HE CAME BACK THE FIVER WAS THERE INSIDE A PARKING TICKET WITH THE SCRAWLED MESSAGE, LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, RITA THE METER- MAID

9 

Forgiving an affront fosters friendship,

    but dwelling on disputes will alienate a friend.

YES

10 

A rebuke strikes deeper into a discerning person

    than a hundred blows into a fool.

THE FOOL IS RIGHT NOT TO BE BULLIED

11 

Evil people seek only rebellion,

    but a cruel messenger will be sent against them.

?? – THE ANCIENT GREEK TRANSLATION MAKES THE MESSENGER AN ANGEL OF GOD

12 

Better to meet a she-bear robbed of its cubs

    than a fool immersed in his folly.

13 

Evil will not depart from the house

    of one who returns evil for good.

IF YOU USE EVIL YOU CHOOSE EVIL

14 

The beginning of strife is like letting out water from a dyke;

    stop before the quarrel breaks out.

15 

Justifying the wicked and condemning the righteous

    are both an abomination to the Lord.

ABOMINATION IN THE BIBLE IS A VERY STRONG WORD

16 

Why should fools have a price in hand

    to buy wisdom, when they have no mind to learn?

MY PROFESSOR BROTHER WAS SENT BY HIS UNIVERSITY TO SAUDI ARABIA TO FOSTER A DISTANCE LEARNING SCHEME. ALL THEY WANTED TO KNOW WAS THE PRICE OF A DEGREE.

17 

A friend loves at all times,

    and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.

YES, YES

18 

It is senseless to give a pledge,

    to become surety for a neighbour.

19 

If you love giving offence you love strife;

    If you build a grand entrance you invite robbery.

IF YOU COMPARE A NUMBER OF BIBLE VERSIONS OF THIS, YOU’LL SEE THAT NOBODY IS SURE WHAT IT MEANS. THE ABOVE IS MY TRANSLATION AND I’M NOT SURE.

20 

The crooked of mind do not prosper,

    and the perverse of tongue fall into calamity.

21 

The one who begets a fool gets trouble;

    the parent of a fool has no joy.

22 

A cheerful heart is a good medicine,

    but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.

YES. SOMETIMES YOU CAN FEEL YOUR BONES DRYING

23 

The wicked accept a concealed bribe

    to pervert the ways of justice.

24 

The discerning person looks for wisdom at hand,

    but the eyes of a fool to the ends of the earth.

OFTEN THE ANSWER IS NEARBY

25 

Foolish children are a grief to their father

    and bitterness to her who bore them.

26 

To impose a fine on the innocent is not right,

    or to flog the noble for their integrity.

YES

27 

One who spares words is knowledgeable;

    one who is cool in spirit has understanding.

28 

Even fools who keep silent are considered wise;

    when they close their lips, they are deemed intelligent.

SEE THE PRECEDING. HOW DO WE DISTINGUISH?