Psalms 37:16

Amplified Bible

Better is the little of the righteous [who seek the will of God] Than the abundance (riches) of many wicked (godless).

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.

Geneva Bible (1587)
A small thing vnto the iust man is better, then great riches to the wicked and mightie.

Christian Standard Bible®
The little that the righteous person has is betterthan the abundance of many wicked people.

Hebrew Names Version
Better is a little that the righteous has, Than the abundance of many wicked.

Easy-to-Read Version
A few good people are better than a large crowd of those who are evil.

American Standard Version
Better is a little that the righteous hath Than the abundance of many wicked.

Contemporary English Version
It is better to live right and be poor than to be sinful and rich.

Complete Jewish Bible
Better the little that the righteous has than the wealth of all the wicked.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Better is a little that the righteous hath than the abundance of many wicked.

King James Version (1611)
A little that a righteous man hath, is better then the riches of many wicked.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
A little is better to the righteous than abundant wealth of sinners.

English Revised Version
Better is a little that the righteous hath than the abundance of many wicked.

Berean Standard Bible
Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.

Lexham English Bible
The little belonging to the righteous is better than the wealth of many wicked.

Literal Translation
A little to the righteous is better than the abundance of many wicked.

New Century Version
It is better to have little and be right than to have much and be wrong.

New English Translation
The little bit that a godly man owns is better than the wealth of many evil men,

New King James Version
A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked.

New Living Translation
It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich.

New Life Bible
The few things that the man right with God has is better than the riches of many sinful men.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Better the little of the righteous man, than the abundance of the lawless who are mighty;

Douay-Rheims Bible
(36-16) Better is a little to the just, than the great riches of the wicked.

George Lamsa Translation
A little that a righteous man has is better than the great riches of the wicked.

Good News Translation
The little that a good person owns is worth more than the wealth of all the wicked,

New American Standard Bible
Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked.

King James Version
A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
A small thing that the righteous hath: is better then great riches of ye vngodly.

New Revised Standard
Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked.

Darby Translation
The little that the righteous hath is better than the abundance of many wicked;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Betere is a litil thing to a iust man; than many richessis of synneris.

Young's Literal Translation
Better [is] the little of the righteous, Than the store of many wicked.

World English Bible
Better is a little that the righteous has, Than the abundance of many wicked.

Revised Standard Version
Better is a little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.

Update Bible Version
Better is a little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.

Webster's Bible Translation
A little that a righteous man hath [is] better than the riches of many wicked.

Bible in Basic English
The little which the good man has is better than the wealth of evil-doers.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
A small thinge yt the rightuous hath, is better then greate riches of the vngodly.

THE MESSAGE
Less is more and more is less. One righteous will outclass fifty wicked, For the wicked are moral weaklings but the righteous are God -strong.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked.

Legacy Standard Bible
Better is the little of the righteousThan the abundance of many wicked.

Contextual Overview

⁷Be still before the LORD; wait patiently for Him and entrust yourself to Him; Do not fret (whine, agonize) because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. ⁸Cease from anger and abandon wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evil. ⁹For those who do evil will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land. ¹⁰For yet a little while and the wicked one will be gone [forever]; Though you look carefully where he used to be, he will not be [found]. ¹¹But the humble will [at last] inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity and peace. ¹²The wicked plots against the righteous And gnashes at him with his teeth. ¹³The Lord laughs at him [the wicked one—the one who oppresses the righteous], For He sees that his day [of defeat] is coming. ¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow To cast down the afflicted and the needy, To slaughter those who are upright in conduct [those with personal integrity and godly character]. ¹⁵The sword [of the ungodly] will enter their own heart, And their bow will be broken. ¹⁶Better is the little of the righteous [who seek the will of God] Than the abundance (riches) of many wicked (godless).

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Proverbs 3:33, Proverbs 13:25, Proverbs 15:16, Proverbs 15:17, Proverbs 16:8, Proverbs 30:9, Ecclesiastes 2:26, Ecclesiastes 4:6, Matthew 6:11, 1 Timothy 6:6

Reciprocal: Genesis 27:41 - then Proverbs 12:27 - but Proverbs 15:6 - in the revenues Proverbs 17:1 - a dry Ecclesiastes 5:20 - For he shall not much remember Jeremiah 35:9 - General Daniel 1:15 - their Luke 6:20 - Blessed Luke 9:17 - eat Luke 12:15 - for Luke 18:30 - manifold more 1 Timothy 4:8 - having Hebrews 11:26 - greater

Cross-References

Song of Solomon 1:7
"Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, Where do you pasture your flock, Where do you make it lie down at noon? For why should I be like one who is veiled Beside the flocks of your companions?"

Luke 19:10
for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

A little that a righteous man hath,.... It is the portion of the righteous, for the most part, to have but little of this world's goods; some indeed have been rich, as Abraham, Lot, David, Joseph of Arimathea, and others; but, generally speaking, the wicked have the largest share of worldly things, and the righteous but little, and are as having nothing comparatively; and yet their little

[is] better than the riches of many wicked; not that a little is better than much, or that poverty is better than riches, or a poor man better than a rich man; but the comparison is between a righteous man and a wicked man; the emphasis lies there; and the sense is, that a "righteous" man's "little" is better than a "wicked" man's "much"; the righteous have a right to what they have, through Christ, who is heir of all things, but not the wicked; they have what they have in love and with a blessing, not so the wicked; they are contented in their state and condition, when the wicked are never satisfied; they possess and enjoy what they have, even all they have, when God oftentimes does not give the wicked an heart to eat and drink of what they are possessed, but a stranger eats it; they have the presence of God with them, and that makes a little sweet, and to go a great way; and they live without any anxious, distressing, burdensome care; not so the wicked; and before long the tables will be turned, and they will have their good things, and the wicked their evil things; see Proverbs 16:8; wherefore they have no need to fret under present circumstances, nor envy the happiness of wicked men. Arama interprets it, of a little help that a righteous man has, better than the riches of many wicked; and Gussetius r understands all this not of the smallness and largeness of the substance of different persons, but of their numbers, the one small, the other large; and Jarchi, that the sense is, that a few persons with the righteous, which was the case of Abraham and Gideon, are better and succeed more than the multitude of many wicked persons; and the church should be content with a small number of believers, and not draw in a multitude of wicked men into their communion.

r Ebr. Comment. p. 213, 475.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A little that a righteous man hath - literally, “Good is a little to the righteous, more than,” etc. Our translation, however, has expressed the sense with sufficient accuracy. There are two things implied here:

(a) that it happens not unfrequently that the righteous have little of the wealth of this world; and

(b) that this little is to them of more real value, accompanied, as it is, with higher blessings, than the more abundant wealth which the wicked often possess.

It is better to have but little of this world’s goods with righteousness, than it is to have the riches of many wicked men - or the wealth which is often found in the possession of wicked men - with their ungodliness. It is not always true, indeed, that the righteous are poor; but if they are poor, their lot is more to be desired than that of the wicked man, though he is rich. Compare Luke 16:19-31.

Is better than the riches of many wicked - Of many wicked people. The small property of one truly good man, with his character and hopes, is of more value than would be the aggregate wealth of many rich wicked men with their character and prospects. The word rendered “riches” here - המון hâmôn - means properly noise, sound, as of rain or of a multitude of people; then, a multitude, a crowd of people; and then, a “multitude” of possessions; that is, riches or wealth. The allusion here is not, as Prof. Alexander supposes, to the tumult or bustle which often attends the acquisition of property, or to the disorder and disquiet which attends its possession, but simply to the “amount” considered as large, or as accumulated or brought together. It is true that its acquisition is often attended with bustle and noise; it is true that its possessor has not often the peace and calmness of mind which the man has who has a mere competence; but the simple thought here is that, in reference to the amount, or the actual possession, it is better, on the whole, to have what the poor, pious man has, than to have what many wicked men have, if it were all gathered together. It does more to make a man happy on earth; it furnishes a better prospect for the life to come.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 37:16. A little that a righteous man hath — This is a solid maxim. Whatever a good man has, has God's blessing in it; even the blessings of the wicked are cursed.