Proverbs 17:1
in Proverbs 17Better a dry morsel in quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, Than a house full of feasting with strife.
KJV
Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.
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This verse in Proverbs 17
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Sacrifices - The feast accompanied the offerings Pro 7:14. Part of the victims were burned upon the altar, the rest was consumed by the worshipper and his friends. The “house full of sacrifices” was therefore one abounding in sumptuous feasts.
This site's exposition
Better a dry morsel in quietness
on Proverbs 17:1-3
The chapter opens with a better-than saying that weighs "a dry morsel in quietness" above "a house full of feasting with strife." A wise servant rules over a disgraceful son and shares his inheritance "as one of the brothers," overturning the ordinary order of birth.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The Scriptures teach us not to be wasteful but liberal. There are two kinds of free giving, one arising from liberality, the other from wasteful extravagance. It is a mark of liberality to receive the stranger, to clothe the naked, to redeem the captives, to help the needy. It is wasteful to spend money on expensive banquets and much wine. Therefore one reads, "Wine is wasteful, drunkenness is abusive." It is wasteful to spend one's own wealth merely for the sake of gaining the favor of the people.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Better is a dry morsel with joy, etc. It is better to do small good deeds with charity without the knowledge of preaching, that is, to have a dry morsel, than to shine with great virtues mixed with discord.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Better is a dry morsel - Peace and contentment, and especially domestic peace, are beyond all other blessings. A house full of sacrifices - A Hindoo priest, who officiates at a festival, sometimes receives so many offeringss that his house is filled with them, so that many of them are damaged before they can be used - Ward.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Better a piece of dry bread and tranquility with it It would have been better for the Holy One, blessed be He, to destroy His Temple and His city, for He would enjoy tranquility from the sins of Israel.
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. 3 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
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ט֤וֹב | tov | [is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| פַּ֣ת | pat | a morsel | H6595 → | 15 times |
| חֲ֭רֵבָה | charevah | dry | H2720 → | |
| וְשַׁלְוָה־ | veshalvah- | and quietness | H7962 → | |
| בָ֑הּ | vah | with it | ||
| מִ֝בַּ֗יִת | mibayit | more than a house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| מָלֵ֥א | male' | full | H4392 → | |
| זִבְחֵי־ | zivchei- | sacrifices of | H2077 → | 162 times |
| רִֽיב׃ | riv | strife | H7379 → | 61 times |
ט֤וֹב[is] good
tovH2896 →538 times
פַּ֣תa morsel
patH6595 →15 times
חֲ֭רֵבָהdry
charevahH2720 →
וְשַׁלְוָה־and quietness
veshalvah-H7962 →
בָ֑הּwith it
vah
מִ֝בַּ֗יִתmore than a house
mibayitH1004 →2046 times
מָלֵ֥אfull
male'H4392 →
זִבְחֵי־sacrifices of
zivchei-H2077 →162 times
רִֽיב׃strife
rivH7379 →61 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
Proverbs 21:9Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
it leads to
- Proverbs 21:19
Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 19:13
A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
- Proverbs 25:24
Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
- Proverbs 27:15–16
A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike—
- Proverbs 12:4
A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but she who causes shame is like decay in his bones.
- Proverbs 21:19
Through
Proverbs 21:19Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.
it leads to
- Proverbs 21:9
Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
- Proverbs 21:9
Through
Psalms 37:16Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.
it leads to
- Proverbs 16:8
Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.
- Proverbs 15:16–17
Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
- Proverbs 16:8
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); Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 2.21.108-9; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.