Proverbs 19:1
in Proverbs 19Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a fool whose lips are perverse.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity Than he that is perverse in his lips and is a fool.
KJV
Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
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This verse in Proverbs 19
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The “perverse” man is the rich fool, as contrasted with the poor man who is upright. Pro 19:1-2 are missing in the Septuagint.
This site's exposition
Better a poor man who walks
on Proverbs 19:1-3
Integrity in poverty outweighs perverse lips in a fool, the same ranking of character above condition the earlier chapters use. A man's own foolishness perverts his way and then his heart frets against the Lord, the fault is his before the blame is misplaced.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Better is the poor who walks in his simplicity, etc. Better is the simple hearer of the word of God, if he completes by working those things which he could understand in the Scriptures; than any learned person, if in those things which he has …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity,.... In the uprightness of his heart before God and men; who is sincere in the worship of God, and in the profession of his name, and walks in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless; and is upright, harmless, and inoffensive in his conversation with men; and studies to exercise a conscience void of offence to both, and continues herein.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Better is the poor - The upright poor man is always to be preferred to the rich or self-sufficient fool.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| טֽוֹב־ | tov- | [is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| רָ֭שׁ | rash | a poor [person] | H7326 → | 24 times |
| הוֹלֵ֣ךְ | holekh | [who] walks | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּתֻמּ֑וֹ | betumo | in integrity his | H8537 → | 23 times |
| מֵעִקֵּ֥שׁ | meikesh | more than [the] [person] perverse of | H6141 → | 11 times |
| שְׂ֝פָתָ֗יו | sefatav | lips his | H8193 → | 176 times |
| וְה֣וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| כְסִֽיל׃ | khesil | [is] a fool | H3684 → | 70 times |
טֽוֹב־[is] good
tov-H2896 →538 times
רָ֭שׁa poor [person]
rashH7326 →24 times
הוֹלֵ֣ךְ[who] walks
holekhH1980 →1546 times
בְּתֻמּ֑וֹin integrity his
betumoH8537 →23 times
מֵעִקֵּ֥שׁmore than [the] [person] perverse of
meikeshH6141 →11 times
שְׂ֝פָתָ֗יוlips his
sefatavH8193 →176 times
וְה֣וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
כְסִֽיל׃[is] a fool
khesilH3684 →70 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
Matthew 16:26What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
it leads to
- Job 27:8
For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
- Mark 8:36–37
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
- Luke 9:25
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?
- Luke 12:20
But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’
- Psalms 49:7–8
No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.
- Job 27:8
Through
Proverbs 16:8Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:16
Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
- 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.
- Proverbs 15:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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 Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.