Proverbs 17:12 (DRB)

Passage

It is better to meet a bear robbed of her whelps, than a fool trusting in his own folly.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 17:10 A reproof availeth more with a wise man, than a hundred stripes with a fool.

Proverbs 17:11 An evil man always seeketh quarrels: but a cruel angel shall be sent against him.

Proverbs 17:12 It is better to meet a bear robbed of her whelps, than a fool trusting in his own folly.

Proverbs 17:13 He that rendereth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.

Proverbs 17:14 The beginning of quarrels is as when one letteth out water: and before he suffereth reproach, he forsaketh judgment.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "better", "meet", "bear", "robbed", "whelps", "than", "fool", and "trusting". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "better" and "meet", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "An evil man always seeketh quarrels but..." into verse 13's "He that rendereth evil for good evil...", so "better" and "meet" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "better" and "meet" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.