Proverbs 15:16
in Proverbs 15Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Better is little, with the fear of Jehovah, Than great treasure and trouble therewith.
KJV
Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.
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This verse in Proverbs 15
Commentary
5 notes on this verseBetter is a little with the fear of the Lord, etc. As it is in the psalm: Better is a little that the righteous person has than the riches of many wicked (Ps. XXXVI). It is better, therefore, to lack wealth or even daily sustenance …
This site's exposition
Better a little with the fear of the LORD
on Proverbs 15:16-17
“Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil,” a comparison the book repeats in other words. Verse 17 follows: “Better a dish of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred,” the plain meal outweighing the feast.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Better is little with the fear of the Lord - Because where the fear of God is, there are moderation and contentment of spirit.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
This proverb has its completion in the teaching of Mat 6:33.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Better a little with the fear of the Lord, than a great treasury and turmoil with it The voice of people shouting that the treasury was made from robbery and violence, as in (Amos:9): “And see great confusions within it and people being oppressed in its midst.”
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
All the days of a poor man are wretched Even Sabbaths and festivals, as Samuel said. A change of diet is the beginning of intestinal disorders.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| טוֹב־ | tov- | [is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| מְ֭עַט | meat | a little | H4592 → | 101 times |
| בְּיִרְאַ֣ת | beyirat | with [the] fear of | H3374 → | 45 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מֵאוֹצָ֥ר | meotzar | more than treasure | H214 → | 79 times |
| רָ֝֗ב | rav | great | H7227 → | 454 times |
| וּמְה֥וּמָה | umehumah | and turmoil | H4103 → | |
| בֽוֹ׃ | vo | with it |
טוֹב־[is] good
tov-H2896 →538 times
מְ֭עַטa little
meatH4592 →101 times
בְּיִרְאַ֣תwith [the] fear of
beyiratH3374 →45 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מֵאוֹצָ֥רmore than treasure
meotzarH214 →79 times
רָ֝֗בgreat
ravH7227 →454 times
וּמְה֥וּמָהand turmoil
umehumahH4103 →
בֽוֹ׃with it
vo
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Timothy 6:6Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
it leads to
- Proverbs 16:8
Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
- 1 Timothy 6:8
But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.
- Philippians 4:11–13
I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.
- Luke 12:31–32
But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added unto you.
- Proverbs 16:8
Through
Proverbs 16:8Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.
it leads to
- Psalms 37:16
Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.
- 1 Timothy 6:6–9
Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
- Psalms 37:16
Through
Psalms 37:16Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:16–17
Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
- Proverbs 15:16–17
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.