Proverbs 17:9 (YLT)

Passage

Whoso is covering transgression is seeking love, And whoso is repeating a matter Is separating a familiar friend.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 17:7 Not comely for a fool is a lip of excellency, Much less for a noble a lip of falsehood.

Proverbs 17:8 A stone of grace <FI>is<Fi> the bribe in the eyes of its possessors, Whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.

Proverbs 17:9 Whoso is covering transgression is seeking love, And whoso is repeating a matter Is separating a familiar friend.

Proverbs 17:10 Rebuke cometh down on the intelligent More than a hundred stripes on a fool.

Proverbs 17:11 An evil man seeketh only rebellion, And a fierce messenger is sent against him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whoso", "covering", "transgression", "seeking", "love", "repeating", and "matter". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whoso" and "covering", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "A stone of grace FI is Fi..." into verse 10's "Rebuke cometh down on the intelligent More...", so "whoso" and "covering" 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 "whoso" and "covering" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.