Proverbs 28:6
in Proverbs 28Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a rich man whose ways 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 ways, though he be rich.
KJV
Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
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This verse in Proverbs 28
Commentary
4 notes on this verseBetter is the poor that walketh in his uprightness,.... See Gill on Pro 19:1; than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich; or, "in his two ways" (c): that halts between two ways, or makes use of both; sometimes turns to the one, to the right hand, and sometimes to the other, to the left hand; or that pretends to the one, and walks in the other; would be thought to be a virtuous and religious man, and to walk in the paths of righteousness and truth, when he walks in those of sin and wickedness.
This site's exposition
Evil men do not understand justice
on Proverbs 28:5-7
"Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD comprehend fully" ties moral perception to seeking God. Verse 6 ranks integrity above wealth: "Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a rich man whose ways are perverse." Verse 7 applies the ranking to a household.
This site's exposition
Better a poor man who walks with integrity
John Gill notes that the Hebrew speaks of the perverse man's ways as two ways. He pictures a man who halts between them, claiming the path of righteousness while walking in sin. The poor man keeps one straight path.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Perverse in his ways - literally, “Perverse in his double ways.” Compare Ecclesiasticus 2:12 and Jas 1:8.
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 | H6141 → | 11 times |
| דְּ֝רָכַ֗יִם | derakhayim | of two ways | H1870 → | 707 times |
| וְה֣וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| עָשִֽׁיר׃ | ʾashir | [is] rich | H6223 → | 23 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
meikeshH6141 →11 times
דְּ֝רָכַ֗יִםof two ways
derakhayimH1870 →707 times
וְה֣וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
עָשִֽׁיר׃[is] rich
ʾashirH6223 →23 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 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.
- Jeremiah 17:11
Like 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…
- Proverbs 21:6–7
Making a fortune by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.
- Proverbs 15:16
Through
Proverbs 28:18He who walks with integrity will be kept safe, but whoever is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:9
He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.
- Revelation 3:3
Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will…
- Proverbs 10:9
Through
Proverbs 19:22The desire of a man is loving devotion; better to be poor than a liar.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 8:12
For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
- 2 Corinthians 8:12
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.