1Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of sacrifices with strife. 2A wise servant shall have rule over a son who causes shame, and shall share in the inheritance among the brothers. 3The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but Jehovah tries the hearts. 4An evildoer gives heed to false lips; a liar listens to a destructive tongue. 5He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; he who is glad at calamities shall not go unpunished. 6Children’s children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children are their fathers. 7Excellent speech is not befitting a fool; much less lying lips a prince. 8A bribe is like a precious stone in the eyes of him who has it; wherever he turns, he prospers. 9He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends. 10A reproof enters more into a wise man than a thousand stripes into a fool. 11An evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him. 12Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, 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 letting out water; therefore leave off contention, before it breaks out. 15He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah. 16Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, since he has no heart? 17A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. 18A man lacking heart strikes hands; he becomes surety in the presence of his friend. 19He who loves transgression loves strife; he who exalts his gate seeks destruction. 20He who has a perverse heart finds no good, and he who has a crooked tongue falls into evil. 21He who begets a fool does it to his sorrow; the father of a fool has no joy. 22A merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. 23A wicked man accepts a bribe out of the bosom to pervert the ways of justice. 24Wisdom is before him who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. 25A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him. 26It is also not good to punish the just, nor to strike princes for uprightness. 27He who has knowledge restrains his words; a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. 28Even a fool, when he is silent, is counted wise; and he who shuts his lips, as a man of understanding.