Classic KJV - Proverbs 17:1

Translation: Quietness

The Hebrew word for “quietness” here, שלוה (šăl•wāh, pronounced “shal-vah”), is used eleven times in the Old Testament, first in Jeremiah 22:21 where it’s actually translated as “prosperity.” Yet this same word is best translated three times in the Book of Daniel as “peace.” The Hebrew word combines our “peace and prosperity,” not as an absence of noise, but serenity and security.

There’s a subtle message here about housing. The Hebrew expression, “a house full of feasting,” combining “house,” “full,” and “feasting,” means what it says. It points to a real dwelling, providing shelter and furnishings for a banquet. A dry morsel can be eaten in a tent or on a dusty road. For the word “feasting” here, the KJV uses “sacrifices,” because ancient Hebrew sacrifices were characterized by the best and widest variety of meats, indicating a table set even better than an ordinary feast. So neither the comfort of a house nor abundance of food can compensate for an absence of peace. Every dinner host should think long and hard on this proverb.

Good Nutrition with Bad Digestion

We all know that gobbling down our food dulls our enjoyment and sours our digestion. Tension and stress does the same—no surprise. Rather than listing nutritional content on cans and cereal boxes, maybe manufacturers should print tips for friendship and cooperation. In business, personal “issues” often loom large. Yet more effort is spent on business lunches than clearing up misunderstandings.

Does Consumerism Cover-Up Cold Heartedness?

Sometimes we try to compensate for fragile relationships with elaborate foods. This proverb advises that it’s better to “prep” our relationships, than our ingredients, with profound implications for a consumer society. Do we good consumers really put consumables first? A friend once compared the society of communist Eastern Europe with our prosperous West: In the West, we have many things, but in the East, we have a few good friendships.

Excellent Eating Experiences

How should we treat our meal money? If we plan to spend $200 or $300 on a fancy meal with an irksome colleague, might we not do better to spend half the money on some sort of friendly gift—a pen or funny gadget—and then spend the rest on a more modest dinner, something that looks less like a culinary competition? The text doesn’t say we should serve guests second-best. But often guests feel more welcomed, if they see their host making an effort rather than spending money. Obviously the proverb isn’t condoning laziness or stinginess in meal preparation, but it’s insisting that there’s much more to dinner than just good food. So, grocery stores today now have ever-bigger sections with cards, souvenirs, games, joke gifts, and books on resolving personal conflicts.

Get Best Value On Food Budget

Perhaps we’re allocating too much money on fancy foods. We can give our guests pleasant company, good conversation, and simple foods, rather than stressing ourselves and them with elaborate dishes served with tension. The quality of our life is more important than the quantity of our assets.

Our Maker, Saviour, and Friend

Jesus told us to nourish both our bodies and souls—our physical and emotional health.

Jesus said to ask God for our daily bread (Matthew 6:11), but he did not include asking for meat and butter. Instead, His very next words dealt with our friendships: “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” Matthew 6:12. Bread and peace is better than bread and jam.

The cravings of the tongue and tummy are best kept in check, to strengthen our generous spirits; bitterness and resentment feed an unforgiving spirit.

Testing footnote one.