Proverbs 16:8
in Proverbs 16Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Better is a little, with righteousness, Than great revenues with injustice.
KJV
Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 16
Commentary
3 notes on this verseBetter is a little with righteousness, etc. And the Lord says, Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God (Matthew V). And again, Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation (Luke VI). It can also be understood …
This site's exposition
Better is a little with righteousness
on Proverbs 16:8-9
Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right closes the Lord cluster the way it opened, measuring a life by its standing with God rather than by its income. A man's heart devises his way, and the Lord directs his steps: the planning stays the man's own work, but the actual walking belongs finally to a will larger than his. Bridges reads the whole nine-verse cluster as one argument, that human planning and divine direction are not rivals but partners, with the Lord always holding the larger share.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Better is a little with righteousness,.... Gotten in a righteous way, held by a righteous claim, used in a righteous manner, attended with a life of righteousness and holiness; and also along with an interest in the righteousness of Christ, which renders acceptable unto God, yields peace and comfort, and entitles to eternal glory and happiness.
The words behind it
7 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 |
| בִּצְדָקָ֑ה | bitzdakah | with righteousness | H6666 → | 157 times |
| מֵרֹ֥ב | mero | more than greatness of | H7230 → | 149 times |
| תְּ֝בוּא֗וֹת | tevuot | gains | H8393 → | 42 times |
| בְּלֹ֣א | belo' | with not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מִשְׁפָּֽט׃ | mishpat | justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
טוֹב־[is] good
tov-H2896 →538 times
מְ֭עַטa little
meatH4592 →101 times
בִּצְדָקָ֑הwith righteousness
bitzdakahH6666 →157 times
מֵרֹ֥בmore than greatness of
meroH7230 →149 times
תְּ֝בוּא֗וֹתgains
tevuotH8393 →42 times
בְּלֹ֣אwith not
belo'H3808 →5168 times
מִשְׁפָּֽט׃justice
mishpatH4941 →422 times
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
Psalms 37:16Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 6:6
Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 15:16–17
Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
- Proverbs 13:25
A righteous man eats to his heart’s content, but the stomach of the wicked is empty.
- 1 Timothy 6:6
Through
Proverbs 15:16Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
it leads to
- Psalms 37:16
Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.
- Ecclesiastes 5:10–12
He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
- Proverbs 28:6
Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a rich man whose ways are perverse.
- Psalms 37:16
Through
Jeremiah 17:11Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will…
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:20
A faithful man will abound with blessings, but one eager to be rich will not go unpunished.
- Proverbs 21:6
Making a fortune by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.
- Proverbs 28:20
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).