Proverbs 17:7-24 - The Consequences Of Being A Fool

⁷
Excellent speech does not benefit a fool [who is spiritually blind],
Much less do lying lips benefit a prince.

⁸
A bribe is like a bright, precious stone in the eyes of its owner;
Wherever he turns, he prospers.

⁹
He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love,
But he who repeats or gossips about a matter separates intimate friends.

¹⁰
A reprimand goes deeper into one who has understanding and a teachable spirit
Than a hundred lashes into a fool.

¹¹
A rebellious man seeks only evil;
Therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

¹²
Let a man meet a [ferocious] bear robbed of her cubs
Rather than the [angry, narcissistic] fool in his folly.

¹³
Whoever returns evil for good,
Evil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴
The beginning of strife is like letting out water [as from a small break in a dam; first it trickles and then it gushes];
Therefore abandon the quarrel before it breaks out and tempers explode.

¹⁵
He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous
Are both repulsive to the Lord.

¹⁶
Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom,
When he has no common sense or even a heart for it?

¹⁷
A friend loves at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁸
A man lacking common sense gives a pledge
And becomes guarantor [for the debt of another] in the presence of his neighbor.

¹⁹
He who loves transgression loves strife and is quarrelsome;
He who [proudly] raises his gate seeks destruction [because of his arrogant pride].

²⁰
He who has a crooked mind finds no good,
And he who is perverted in his language falls into evil.

²¹
He who becomes the parent of a fool [who is spiritually blind] does so to his sorrow,
And the father of a fool [who is spiritually blind] has no joy.

²²
A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes healing,
But a broken spirit dries up the bones.

²³
A wicked man receives a bribe from the [hidden] pocket
To pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴
[Skillful and godly] wisdom is in the presence of a person of understanding [and he recognizes it],
But the eyes of a [thickheaded] fool are on the ends of the earth.