Proverbs 17

The emphasis here is filial piety and personal loyalty. Shalom starts at home.

1. Better is a dry piece of bread, and quietness with it, than a house full of sacrifices with fighting. A literal rendering of the Hebrew would use the word “morsel” as a single bite of just about any food, something broken off of a larger serving. This along with moral abundance (“quietness”) is still a better life than a whole house full of whole animal carcasses (“sacrifices”) if it comes with adversarial living. Sacrifice your personal comfort in favor of a peaceful home.

2. A wise servant shall have rule over a son who causes shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brothers. This is as much instruction as observation. This assumes a society that doesn’t suffer from prissy pretense. If a family member brings shame, it’s typically because they have no moral grasp, no sense of accountability. Don’t take this as baldly literal, but a symbolic image of how some people need close supervision. Ancient custom allowed delaying or advancing the rite of passage to adulthood within the household when the child learned to act in the family interest. It was not unheard of for men to die under tutelage, never gaining full control of their inheritance, but having to take their allowance from some non-family manager who served the head of household. In real terms, the manager holds all the privileges of inheritance.

3. The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tries the hearts. Gold or silver out of the ground wasn’t all that valuable until it was purified. So it is with humans; we are born in need of purification and redemption. If you reject the fire of your soul’s refinement, you will remain little more than a potential person who cannot participate in God’s blessings. Must we mention that some of your greatest trials are in the family setting?

4. A wicked doer gives heed to false lips; a liar gives ear to an evil tongue. The concept of deception here is not simply factual errors, but moral errors. Truth is not mere fact, but is agreeing with whatever God says about this world. You should learn to treat immoral chatter the same as criminal actions, because the two feed off each other. Don’t hang out with family that runs to either problem.

5. Whoever scorns the poor reviles his Maker; he who is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished. The word “scorn” would be better translated as mocking, the idea of making fun of someone. This is a standard Hebrew parallelism. People who are amused at human misfortune are an insult to God because they seek to play God in the sense of making something worse than it has to be. It’s just a very thin separation from blasphemy; all the more so when it concerns your family.

6. Sons of sons are the crown of old men, and the glory of sons are their fathers. This is more subtle than it seems in English. However much repute (and associated blessings) someone can have in this world is morally bound up in his or her extended family. This is another way of reminding people that they cannot argue with God about their DNA, as if He made some mistake putting them in this or that household. The blessings God offers require that you make the most of your situation starting with your birth.

7. An excellent lip is not fitting for a fool; much less are lying lips fitting for a prince. Since the definition of “fool” is someone with no moral sense of commitment to social stability, you wouldn’t expect a fool to exhibit charisma. By the same token, you wouldn’t call someone “noble” if they were foolish in that sense. This is another case of confessing God’s moral truth about what you discern in the world around you. Don’t be a sucker for social pretense. Even if you stand alone in your household, be noble by keeping honesty alive.

8. A bribe is like a precious stone in the eyes of him who has it; wherever he turns, he is prudent. The Hebrew here is ambiguous, so translations may vary widely. The word translated “bribe” is actually any sort of gift or offering, regardless of the purpose. This is likely intentional, since a great many proverbs address multiple levels of moral consideration. It’s also uncertain whether the owner or the stone is doing the turning and prospering. In a cultural context where passing gratuities up the social chain was entirely routine (think of it as tribute to your elders), the proper moral consideration is to be careful how you go about it. If you can’t be savvy, at least be honorable. Keep a clear conscience in all of your dealings and you won’t have to worry about what God sees as He examines your heart and directs His blessings accordingly.

9. He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends. The image for cover here is making sure something is complete. Thus, it’s a redemptive act to help someone else with his standard human weaknesses and failures. The idea behind repeating carries the notion of compounding an error, making it worse. Are you a faithful member of the same team, or do you expose your folks to public ridicule?

10. A reproof enters more into a wise man than a thousand stripes into a fool. English translations differ on the actual number, but the point is well taken. Someone morally committed to divine justice will take into consideration what people say, even if he can’t actually comply. A fool hears only the voice inside his own flesh, and beating that flesh won’t change the voice.

11. An evil one seeks only rebellion; so a cruel messenger shall be sent against him. The word “cruel” would better be translated as “brutal.” The head of household would always try to have at least one man-at-arms. This is as much a matter of temperament as skill. A chief or king would always have his cadre of executioners. God makes some folks better able to decide when violence is justified, men who proceed without hesitation. It has nothing to do with weaker morals, but a different approach to trouble. Leaders retain people like that because there will always be at least one fool who can’t seem to hear the words of a gentle messenger. Some people only respond to the wrath of God’s Laws.

12. Let a bear robbed of her cubs meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly. The word order is clumsy in English. A bereaved mother bear was easily the most fearsome creature in that part of the world. Still, a man confronted with such would be better off than if he encountered a man who was morally insensate. How much worse it is when the fool is family.

13. Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house. We live in a world where even the best intentions can sometimes go wrong. Sometimes a bad situation gets the best of us and we act rashly. Social customs generally make a way for apologies and repentance, and encourage mercy. However, when someone is consistent in consciously taking advantage of people over whom they exercise some power, that person God will not allow to live in peace. If nothing else, the moral destruction will echo throughout all their dealings. How sad to be born in such a household!

14. The beginning of strife is like letting out water; therefore leave off fighting, before it breaks out. It’s easier to prevent a flood by reinforcing a dam than to put all that water back once the dam breaks. Just so, it’s easier to let some things slide than start a fight that breaks up a family’s stability. Note: This is not the same as ignoring evil, but the reader is expected to recognize the different context. Not everything displeasing to you is a threat to the family.

15. He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, even both of them are hateful to the LORD. This goes along with the previous verse. There comes a point when something is beyond repair and you have to realize it reflects an evil desire that threatens the moral covering of the household. Castigating someone who dares to point that out is equally evil. Westerners struggle with this because of a bizarre absolutism when it comes to family relations, something alien to the Scripture. The Hebrew people had protocols for divorcing from a family where you just could not find a peaceful place.

16. Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, since he has no heart for it? This is a figure of speech that translates poorly. It’s rather like asking why you would give someone money and send them to the store to buy something when he has no idea what it is. To be a fool is the same as having a dead heart, incapable of discerning the moral fabric of Creation. Some people seem to possess no capacity at all for awakening their hearts. There’s not enough money in the world to buy moral discernment.

17. A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for the time of trouble. A Hebrew parallel, the terms for friend and brother are equally ambiguous, defined by context. You know whom to call friend and brother by how they stand by you regardless of the situation. Treat such people accordingly.

18. A man lacking heart strikes hands; he pledges in the presence of his friend. Again, the word for friend is contextual. Notice the literal comment about lacking a strong heart-mind. While Hebrew law permitted people to cosign loans, it was always considered high risk. Typically someone wealthier and more powerful would cosign, someone who could pay off the debt and find a way to extract the balance from the other. Most people can’t play that rough with their peers, so it was considered folly to consign for someone your social equal. Since ancient times it was very destructive of family relations.

19. He who loves fighting loves transgression; he who makes his gate high seeks ruin. Another challenging figure of speech in poetic parallel, the focus here is on provoking trouble in any social context. If you find conflict entertaining, you might as well be in open rebellion against your own kin, because you will bring all kinds of moral failures into the household. A “high gate” presents the image of provocative arrogance, someone just looking for an excuse to make trouble.

20. He who has a perverse heart finds no good, and he who has a crooked tongue falls into mischief. This parallelism is more obvious, in that a heart choked by hedonism lies behind a perverse tongue. Not so much in the sense of saying naughty things, but a perverse tongue goes overboard, outrageously asserting things contrary to the revealed moral character of God. It’s just a step away from outright blasphemy. A wise head of household would run such folks out of town.

21. He who fathers a fool does it to his sorrow; the father of a fool has no joy. Actually there are two different words translated as “father” here. The first is the verb for begetting children whether as mother, father or even midwife. The point is that anyone involved in the life of a child who never awakens the moral discernment of his heart will deeply regret that involvement. Sorrow is their destiny.

22. A merry heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. The sentiment here is echoed in may other passages in the Bible. People who rejoice in the moral character of God, who delight in discovering how it is woven into every part of Creation, are the best medicine for every ill that afflicts humanity. Their faith is contagious. You pray to find such people in your household, and do your best to isolate someone who bears a gloomy outlook. Depression can be somewhat contagious, too.

23. A wicked man takes a bribe out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment. This is the same word for “bribe” as in verse 8 above, but the context is obviously limited. Unlike some customary tribute offered openly as a mark of high honor, this is something sneaky. It seeks to seduce the higher power into dishonor and injustice. This is particularly destructive in the family setting.

24. Wisdom is before him who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth. Here is another unfamiliar figure of speech. The image is a savvy fellow keeping his attention focused on moral wisdom, contrasted against a fool who seeks just about everything except wisdom. The obvious point is encouraging a sense of moral focus as if paying attention to someone great and mighty.

25. A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him. This one keeps coming back in different contexts. However, it is particularly appropriate in this chapter themed on family moral stability. Compare this with the commandment to honor your father and mother.

26. And it is not good to punish the just, nor to strike princes for uprightness. Recall from previous proverbs that the just need only verbal correction. To punish them the same as fools is a grave offense to God, on a par with any kind of violence against nobility or royalty when they are morally upright. In the latter case, you’d be lucky to live much longer, since powerful folks keep armed guards around. How much worse it is to fall into God’s wrath for eternity.

27. He who has knowledge uses few words; a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. The first phrase we have seen before. It’s more than just a solid grasp of the subject where you can answer with concise brevity, but you have no need to put on a show to demonstrate your expertise. It’s not reluctance, but reticence. The second is a figure of speech indicating someone who is a rare treasure. Keep such people around because they won’t waste time and energy on frivolity.

28. Even a fool, when he is silent, is counted wise, and he who shuts his lips is counted as a man of understanding. This continues the previous verse. Anyone who seeks to show off usually proves only his incompetence. These last two verses support the teaching of not throwing pearls before swine. It’s hard to share truth with someone whose life is one big lie. It’s also hard to live in the same house with them.