Proverbs 17:18-28

¹⁸A man having no sense makes binding promises and becomes responsible for his neighbor's debts.

¹⁹Whoever loves conflict loves sin; the one who makes the threshold of his door too high causes bones to be broken.

²⁰A person who has a crooked heart finds nothing that is good; the one who has a perverse tongue falls into calamity.

²¹Whoever is the parent of a fool brings grief to himself; and the father of a fool has no joy.

²²A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

²³A wicked man accepts a secret bribe to pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴The one who has understanding sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are set on the ends of the earth.

²⁵A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to the woman who bore him.

²⁶Also, it is never good to punish the righteous person; neither is it good to flog noble men who have integrity.

²⁷One who has knowledge uses few words and one with understanding is even-tempered.

²⁸Even a fool is thought to be wise if he keeps silent; when he keeps his mouth shut, he is considered to be intelligent.