New International Version

Proverbs 17:4-13 New International Version (NIV)

4. A wicked person listens to deceitful lips; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

5. Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.

6. Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.

7. Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool— how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

8. A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives it; they think success will come at every turn.

9. Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

10. A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool.

11. Evildoers foster rebellion against God; the messenger of death will be sent against them.

12. Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly.

13. Evil will never leave the house of one who pays back evil for good.