Proverbs 12:9 BSB — MannaFest

Proverbs 12:9

Better to be lightly esteemed yet have a servant, than to be self-important but lack food.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Better is he that is lightly esteemed, and hath a servant, Than he that honoreth himself, and lacketh bread.

KJV

He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.

⋯

Commentary

2 voices

Bede

Commentary on Proverbs (735)

Better is the poor who is sufficient for himself, etc. Better is the simple and humble brother, who, working the good he knows, earns life in heaven, than he who is renowned for scripture learning or even performs the office of a doctor, but lacks …

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

Two interpretations are equally tenable; (1) as in the King James Version, He whom men despise, or who is “lowly” in his own eyes (compare 1Sa 18:23), if he has a slave, i. e., if he is one step above absolute poverty, and has some one to supply his wants, is better off than the man who boasts of rank or descent and has nothing to eat. Respectable mediocrity is better than boastful poverty. (2) he who, though despised, is a servant to himself, i. e., supplies his own wants, is better than the arrogant and helpless.

Voices on this verse

loading…

Original language & word study

7 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
ט֣וֹב	Tov	[is] good	H2896 →
נִ֭קְלֶה	Nik.leh	a lightly esteemed [person]	H7034 →
וְעֶ֣בֶד	ve.'E.ved	and a servant	H5650 →
ל֑וֹ	lo	[belongs] to him
מִ֝מְּתַכַּבֵּ֗ד	mi.me.tak.ka.Bed	more than [one who] honors himself	H3513 →
וַחֲסַר־	va.cha.sar-	and [one] lacking of	H2638 →
לָֽחֶם׃	La.chem	food	H3899 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Luke 14:11
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
leads to
- Luke 18:14
  I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Matthew 23:12
  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
- Proverbs 29:23
  A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.
- James 4:6
  But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- 1 Peter 5:5
  Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Through
Proverbs 13:7
One pretends to be rich, but has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
leads to
- Revelation 3:17
  You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.
- Luke 18:11–14
  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
- Proverbs 11:24
  One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.

About Proverbs

King Solomon in Old Age — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Proverbs: the study guide →Read chapter 12 →The featured study →

Continue: Proverbs 12 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About Proverbs

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About Proverbs