17:1 Better is a dry morsel with quiet
than a house full of feasting [1] with strife.
2 A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully
and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
3 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and the Lord tests hearts.
4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
5 Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.
7 Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
still less is false speech to a prince.
8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
wherever he turns he prospers.
9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.
11 An evil man seeks only rebellion,
and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs
rather than a fool in his folly.
13 If anyone returns evil for good,
evil will not depart from his house.
14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
16 Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
when he has no sense?
17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
18 One who lacks sense gives a pledge
and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
19 Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
20 A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
21 He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
and the father of a fool has no joy.
22 A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
23 The wicked accepts a bribe in secret [2]
to pervert the ways of justice.
24 The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father
and bitterness to her who bore him.
26 To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,
and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
than a house full of feasting [1] with strife.
2 A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully
and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
3 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and the Lord tests hearts.
4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
5 Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.
7 Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
still less is false speech to a prince.
8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
wherever he turns he prospers.
9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.
11 An evil man seeks only rebellion,
and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs
rather than a fool in his folly.
13 If anyone returns evil for good,
evil will not depart from his house.
14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
16 Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
when he has no sense?
17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
18 One who lacks sense gives a pledge
and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
19 Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
20 A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
21 He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
and the father of a fool has no joy.
22 A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
23 The wicked accepts a bribe in secret [2]
to pervert the ways of justice.
24 The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father
and bitterness to her who bore him.
26 To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,
and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
3 comments:
v8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.
KJV translate the "bribe" as gift. So the word "bribe" here does not carry the meaning that i understood (immoral act)?
Hi Sister Jackie,
v8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.
The note in my ESV study bible suggests that this is only an observation, it does not condone a fact of life or endorse an attitude on how the world works
Another example is
The poor is disliked even by his neighbor,but the rich has many friends... Proverb 14:20
I think the suggestion is helpful since God can not contradict Himself. He is holy and He has made it clear that He hates bribe:
Exodus 18:21
Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
Proverbs 15:27
Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live.
and many other verses..
17:15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
According to our text today,the LORD hates the following types of person equally:
1) He who condemns the righteous
2) He who justifies the wicked
We may be quick to say that we don’t belong to type no 1. We don’t condemn any one, what’s more the righteous! Ok.. may be at least we don’t do it frequently or consciously. (..will let this go for time being)
But how about type 2? Are we guilty of being in type 2?
Do we have even the slightest glimpse of God's zeal and His holiness? Do we really believe that to tolerate or to acquit a guilty is an offence to the holy God?
Are our daily thoughts and actions validating that belief?
Do we show partiality to the wicked? (e.g, being biased, prejudiced, racist). Are we indifferent to them because it is so common or unavoidable in our community that it has become an accepted way of life/culture and we should not care?
Proverbs 18:5 To show partiality to the wicked is not good,
Are we ignoring the warning of God and let the sin/wickedness to continuously defile the Land, wearing out God’s patient and ultimately kindle His wrath? Are we so indifferent that we don’t feel the need or desperation to be on our knees or stand in the gap to intercede and ask God to heal our land?
Are we deceived by false teacher because we do not like to spend time with the word of God but instead choose to have itchy ears (2 tim 4:3), calling the wicked righteous?
Proverbs 24:24 Whoever says to the wicked, “You are in the right,” will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,
Do we justify a wicked for a bribe? May be not, or ok.. at least not consciously. .
But do we let go a wicked act under our jurisdiction (e.g. by our children, by our subordinates or followers) because we are soft-hearted? Or because we choose the easy way out of not confronting or not disciplining?
In our cell lesson last week on the letter to Thyatira, discussing on God’s call to holiness, we ended the discussion with the following statement for the members to bring home for thoughts
’to love righteousness is to hate iniquity’.
I am humbly challenged by our text today . The word of God has chastised me, I am guilty as charged.
I have a long way to go.. Lord, be merciful and help me.
Psalm 97:10a Ye that love the LORD, hate evil
Psalm 119:104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
James 4:17 to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin
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