Bible Society of South Africa

Bible Reading Plan – Day 138

Bible text(s)

1Better to eat a dry crust of bread with peace of mind than to have a banquet in a house full of trouble.

2A shrewd servant will gain authority over a master's worthless son and receive a part of the inheritance.

3Gold and silver are tested by fire, and a person's heart is tested by the LORD.

4Evil people listen to evil ideas, and liars listen to lies.

5If you laugh at poor people, you insult the God who made them. You will be punished if you take pleasure in someone's misfortune.

6Grandparents are proud of their grandchildren, just as children are proud of their parents.

7Respected people do not tell lies, and fools have nothing worthwhile to say.

8Some people think a bribe works like magic; they believe it can do anything.

9If you want people to like you, forgive them when they wrong you. Remembering wrongs can break up a friendship.

10An intelligent person learns more from one rebuke than a fool learns from being beaten a hundred times.

11Death will come like a cruel messenger to wicked people who are always stirring up trouble.

12It is better to meet a mother bear robbed of her cubs than to meet some fool busy with a stupid project.

13If you repay good with evil, you will never get evil out of your house.

14The start of an argument is like the first break in a dam; stop it before it goes any further.

15Condemning the innocent or letting the wicked go — both are hateful to the LORD.

16It does a fool no good to spend money on an education, because he has no common sense.

17Friends always show their love. What are relatives for if not to share trouble?

18Only someone with no sense would promise to be responsible for someone else's debts.

19To like sin is to like making trouble. If you brag all the time, you are asking for trouble.

20Anyone who thinks and speaks evil can expect to find nothing good — only disaster.

21There is nothing but sadness and sorrow for parents whose children do foolish things.

22Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time.

23Corrupt judges accept secret bribes, and then justice is not done.

24An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions.

25Foolish children bring grief to their fathers and bitter regrets to their mothers.

26It is not right to make an innocent person pay a fine; justice is perverted when good people are punished.

27Those who are sure of themselves do not talk all the time. People who stay calm have real insight. 28After all, even a fool may be thought wise and intelligent if he stays quiet and keeps his mouth shut.

1People who do not get along with others are interested only in themselves; they will disagree with what everyone else knows is right.

2A fool does not care whether he understands a thing or not; all he wants to do is to show how clever he is.

3Sin and shame go together. Lose your honour, and you will get scorn in its place.

4A person's words can be a source of wisdom, deep as the ocean, fresh as a flowing stream.

5It is not right to favour the guilty and prevent the innocent from receiving justice.

6When some fool starts an argument, he is asking for a beating.

7When a fool speaks, he is ruining himself; he gets caught in the trap of his own words.

8Gossip is so tasty — how we love to swallow it!

9A lazy person is as bad as someone who is destructive.

10The LORD is like a strong tower, where the righteous can go and be safe. 11Rich people, however, imagine that their wealth protects them like high, strong walls round a city.

12No one is respected unless he is humble; arrogant people are on the way to ruin.

13Listen before you answer. If you don't you are being stupid and insulting.

14Your will to live can sustain you when you are sick, but if you lose it, your last hope is gone.

15Intelligent people are always eager and ready to learn.

16Do you want to meet an important person? Take a gift and it will be easy.

17The first to speak in court always seems right until his opponent begins to question him.

18If two powerful men are opposing each other in court, casting lots can settle the issue.

19Help your relatives and they will protect you like a strong city wall, but if you quarrel with them, they will close their doors to you.

20You will have to live with the consequences of everything you say. 21What you say can preserve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words.

22Find a wife and you find a good thing; it shows that the LORD is good to you.

23When the poor speak, they have to beg politely, but when the rich answer, they are rude.

24Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers.

1It is better to be poor but honest than to be a lying fool.

2Enthusiasm without knowledge is not good; impatience will get you into trouble.

3Some people ruin themselves by their own stupid actions and then blame the LORD.

4Rich people are always finding new friends, but the poor cannot keep the few they have.

5If you tell lies in court, you will be punished — there will be no escape.

6Everyone tries to gain the favour of important people; everyone claims the friendship of those who give out favours.

7Even the relatives of a poor person have no use for him; no wonder he has no friends. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot win any.

8Do yourself a favour and learn all you can; then remember what you learn and you will prosper.

9No one who tells lies in court can escape punishment; he is doomed.

10Fools should not live in luxury, and slaves should not rule over noblemen.

11If you are sensible, you will control your temper. When someone wrongs you, it is a great virtue to ignore it.

12The king's anger is like the roar of a lion, but his favour is like welcome rain.

13Stupid children can bring their parents to ruin. A nagging wife is like water going drip-drip-drip.

14A man can inherit a house and money from his parents, but only the LORD can give him a sensible wife.

15Be lazy if you want to; sleep on, but you will go hungry.

16Keep God's laws and you will live longer; if you ignore them, you will die.

17When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the LORD, and the LORD will pay you back.

18Discipline your children while they are young enough to learn. If you don't, you are helping them to destroy themselves.

19If someone has a hot temper, let him take the consequences. If you get him out of trouble once, you will have to do it again.

20If you listen to advice and are willing to learn, one day you will be wise.

21People may plan all kinds of things, but the LORD's will is going to be done.

22It is a disgrace to be greedy; poor people are better off than liars.

23Obey the LORD and you will live a long life, content and safe from harm.

24Some people are too lazy to put food in their own mouths.

25Arrogance should be punished, so that people who don't know any better can learn a lesson. If you are wise, you will learn when you are corrected.

26Only a shameful, disgraceful person would ill-treat his father or turn his mother away from his home.

27Son, when you stop learning, you will soon neglect what you already know.

28There is no justice where a witness is determined to hurt someone. Wicked people love the taste of evil.

29A conceited fool is sure to get a beating.

Proverbs 17:1-19:29GNBOpen in Bible reader
Bible Society of South Africav.4.17.10
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