Proverbs chapter 17

vs 10

So I guess even though the fool might be impressed by the amount of punishment you can dole out on someone, wisdom sees more value in a rebuke.

vs 11

Eep! The messenger of death! That's a pretty strong message. Either the message is for you - in which case I guess you die, and it's other people that learn - or the message is for someone else, and I guess you learn from that. If you know what I mean. I'm a little tired still, so confusion may reign.

vs 12

This is just awesome. No matter what sort of foolishness we're talking, you would apparently rather be mauled by a bear than face it.

vs 13

So if someone does you a good turn, and you respond by kicking them in the crotch, then get ready for some hell. People really don't like it when you do that.

vs 14

This is one of the best translated proverbs, I reckon - because it's got that hidden pun there for us poor English readers. Not that all proverbs have puns, but it's a classic. I've got to learn to drop quarrels, because I don't swim as well as I used to.

vs 15

No, they do still happen. God just hates such injustices. So we should try as often as we can not only to get it right, but also to fix it when we get it wrong.

vs 16

The question is rhetorical. The answer is not, "So let's take their money off them."

vs 17

So you know who your friends are when the brown stuff hits the spinning device. Brothers should always be there for you in such times - at least, that's what we tend to believe, that blood is thicker - but the proverb doesn't really seem to quantify a difference.

vs 18

The idea being, of course, that you have no sway over them, really - if they can't pay back, they'll just let it fall on you, because losing the goodwill of a neighbour is not like losing the goodwill of a family member. Although such pledges might be legally binding, they are predominantly built with the backstop that you can put social pressure on the person to do their best to repay.