¹Better is a dry crust of bread where there is quietness than a house full of feasting with strife. ²A servant who acts wisely will rule over an heir who behaves shamefully and will share the inheritance along with the relatives. ³The crucible is for refining silver and the furnace is for gold; likewise the Lord tests hearts. ⁴One who acts wickedly pays attention to evil counsel; a liar listens to a malicious tongue. ⁵The one who mocks the poor has insulted his Creator; whoever rejoices over disaster will not go unpunished. ⁶Grandchildren are like a crown to the elderly, and the glory of children is their parents. ⁷Excessive speech is not becoming for a fool; how much less are lies for a ruler! ⁸A bribe works like a charm for the one who offers it; in whatever he does he succeeds. ⁹The one who forgives an offense seeks love, but whoever repeats a matter separates close friends. ¹⁰A rebuke makes a greater impression on a discerning person than a hundred blows on a fool. ¹¹An evil person seeks only rebellion, and so a cruel messenger will be sent against him.¹²It is better for a person to meet a mother bear being robbed of her cubs than to encounter a fool in his folly. ¹³As for the one who repays evil for good, evil will not leave his house. ¹⁴Starting a quarrel is like letting out water; abandon strife before it breaks out! ¹⁵The one who acquits the guilty and the one who condemns the innocent— both of them are an abomination to the Lord. ¹⁶What’s the point of a fool having money in hand to buy wisdom when his head is empty?¹⁷A friend loves at all times, and a relative is born to help in adversity. ¹⁸The one who lacks sense strikes hands in pledge and puts up financial security for his neighbor. ¹⁹The one who loves a quarrel loves transgression; whoever builds his gate high seeks destruction. ²⁰The one who has a perverse heart does not find good, and the one who is deceitful in speech falls into trouble. ²¹Whoever brings a fool into the world does so to his grief, and the father of a fool has no joy. ²²A cheerful heart brings good healing, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. ²³A wicked person receives a bribe secretly to pervert the ways of justice. ²⁴Wisdom is directly in front of the discerning person, but the eyes of a fool run to the ends of the earth. ²⁵A foolish child is a grief to his father and bitterness to the mother who bore him.²⁶It is terrible to punish a righteous person, and to flog honorable men is wrong.²⁷The truly wise person restrains his words, and the one who stays calm is discerning. ²⁸Even a fool who remains silent is considered wise, and the one who holds his tongue is deemed discerning.