Wisdom · Chapter 17 of 31

Proverbs 17

The sayings here weigh peace against strife, true friendship, the testing of hearts, and the folly of quarrels. Better a dry morsel with quietness than a house full of feasting with strife. The LORD tries the heart as fire tries gold. A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. A merry heart does good like medicine, while contention should be dropped before it bursts.

What happens in Proverbs 17

The chapter opens prizing peace over plenty: better a dry morsel with quietness than a house full of sacrifices with strife. It probes the heart's testing, the fining pot for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tries the hearts, and warns against mocking the poor, which reproaches their Maker. Relationships and quarrels recur: covering a transgression seeks love, while repeating a matter separates friends; the beginning of strife is like letting out water, so leave off contention before it breaks out.

A celebrated line declares that a friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Perverting justice is condemned, whoever justifies the wicked and condemns the just are both an abomination. The chapter values restrained speech, he who spares his words has knowledge, and even a fool who holds his peace is counted wise. It notes that a merry heart does good like a medicine, while a broken spirit dries the bones.

Proverbs 17 in context

Chapter 17 continues the Solomonic collection, now with less rigid antithetic structure and more varied sayings. Its concerns are heavily relational: friendship, family strife, quarrels, and the courtroom. In a close-knit society, guarding relationships, covering offenses, and refusing to inflame disputes were vital to communal peace.

The recurring image of the LORD as the one who assays hearts like a refiner assumes that God, not human opinion, is the final judge of inner worth.

Main themes of Proverbs 17

Proverbs 17 (KJV)

1Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife. 2A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren. 3The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts. 4A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue. 5Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished. 6Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers. 7Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince. 8A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth. 9He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends. 10A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool. 11An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him. 12Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly. 13Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house. 14The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with. 15He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD. 16Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it? 17A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. 18A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend. 19He loveth transgression that loveth strife: and he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction. 20He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief. 21He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy. 22A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. 23A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment. 24Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth. 25A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him. 26Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity. 27He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. 28Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

Verses to carry from Proverbs 17

“The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.”Proverbs 17:3

“He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.”Proverbs 17:9

“A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”Proverbs 17:17

Reflection

Ask what kind of friend you are when trouble comes, whether you love at all times or only when it is easy. And consider whether you cover offenses in love or rehearse them until friendships fracture. Draw near to Christ, the friend born for your adversity, and become such a friend to others.

A prayer from Proverbs 17