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Saturday, October 12th, 2024
the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
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New Living Translation

Proverbs 15:16

Better to have little, with fear for the Lord , than to have great treasure and inner turmoil.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Fear of God;   Poverty;   Riches;   Thompson Chain Reference - Content-Discontent;   Contentment;   The Topic Concordance - Fear;   Greed/gluttony;   Wealth;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Fear, Godly;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Wealth;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Treasure;  

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for October 23;  

Parallel Translations

Legacy Standard Bible
Better is a little with the fear of YahwehThan great treasure and turmoil with it.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Better is a little with the fear of the LORD Than great treasure and turmoil with it.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Better is a litle with the feare of the Lorde: then great treasure, and trouble therwith.
Darby Translation
Better is little with the fear of Jehovah than great store and disquietude therewith.
New King James Version
Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, Than great treasure with trouble.
Literal Translation
Better is a little with the fear of Jehovah than great treasure and tumult with it.
Easy-to-Read Version
It is better to be poor and respect the Lord than to be rich and have many troubles.
World English Bible
Better is little, with the fear of Yahweh, Than great treasure with trouble.
King James Version (1611)
Better is little with the feare of the Lord, then great treasure, and trouble therewith.
King James Version
Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Better is a litle with the feare of the LORDE then greate treasure, for they are not without sorowe.
THE MESSAGE
A simple life in the Fear-of- God is better than a rich life with a ton of headaches.
Amplified Bible
Better is a little with the [reverent, worshipful] fear of the LORD Than great treasure and trouble with it.
American Standard Version
Better is little, with the fear of Jehovah, Than great treasure and trouble therewith.
Bible in Basic English
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great wealth together with trouble.
Update Bible Version
Better is little, with the fear of Yahweh, Than great treasure and trouble therewith.
Webster's Bible Translation
Better [is] little with the fear of the LORD, than great treasure and trouble with it.
New English Translation
Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth and turmoil with it.
Contemporary English Version
It's better to obey the Lord and have only a little, than to be very rich and terribly confused.
Complete Jewish Bible
Better little with the fear of Adonai than great wealth coupled with worry.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Better is a litle with the feare of the Lord, then great treasure, and trouble therewith.
George Lamsa Translation
Better is a little with reverence for the LORD than the great treasures of the wicked.
Hebrew Names Version
Better is little, with the fear of the LORD, Than great treasure with trouble.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Better is little with the fear of the LORD, than great treasure and turmoil therewith.
New Life Bible
A little with the fear of the Lord is better than great riches with trouble.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Better is a small portion with the fear of the Lord, than great treasures without the fear of the Lord.
English Revised Version
Better is little with the fear of the LORD, than great treasure and trouble therewith.
Berean Standard Bible
Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
New Revised Standard
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Better is a little, with the reverence of Yahweh, than great treasure, and disquietude therewith.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasures without content.
Lexham English Bible
Better is little with the fear of Yahweh than great treasure and trouble with it.
English Standard Version
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it.
New American Standard Bible
Better is a little with the fear of the LORD Than great treasure, and turmoil with the treasure.
New Century Version
It is better to be poor and respect the Lord than to be wealthy and have much trouble.
Good News Translation
Better to be poor and fear the Lord than to be rich and in trouble.
Christian Standard Bible®
Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure with turmoil.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Betere is a litil with the drede of the Lord, than many tresouris and vnfillable.
Revised Standard Version
Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.
Young's Literal Translation
Better [is] a little with the fear of Jehovah, Than much treasure, and tumult with it.

Contextual Overview

16 Better to have little, with fear for the Lord , than to have great treasure and inner turmoil. 17 A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

little: Proverbs 16:8, Proverbs 28:6, Psalms 37:16, 1 Timothy 6:6

great: Proverbs 10:22, Ecclesiastes 2:10, Ecclesiastes 2:11, Ecclesiastes 2:18-23, Ecclesiastes 5:10-12

Reciprocal: Genesis 43:2 - General Psalms 119:141 - small Proverbs 12:27 - but Proverbs 15:6 - the house Proverbs 19:1 - Better Proverbs 23:17 - be thou Ecclesiastes 4:6 - General Isaiah 33:6 - fear Luke 12:15 - for

Cross-References

Genesis 15:5
Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, "Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That's how many descendants you will have!"
Genesis 15:8
But Abram replied, "O Sovereign Lord , how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?"
Genesis 15:9
The Lord told him, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
Genesis 15:11
Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.
Exodus 12:40
The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years.
1 Kings 21:26
His worst outrage was worshiping idols just as the Amorites had done—the people whom the Lord had driven out from the land ahead of the Israelites.)
Daniel 8:23
"At the end of their rule, when their sin is at its height, a fierce king, a master of intrigue, will rise to power.
1 Thessalonians 2:16
as they try to keep us from preaching the Good News of salvation to the Gentiles. By doing this, they continue to pile up their sins. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Better [is] little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith. Not that a "little" is better than "much" of that which is good, as the things of this world are in themselves; poverty is not better than riches, simply considered; but as these are attended with different circumstances: if a man has but little of worldly substance, yet if he has "the fear of God" in his heart, and before his eyes; that fear which has God for its author and for its object, and which is itself a treasure; and may be here put for all grace, for the riches of grace saints are partakers of; such a man's little is better than another man's abundance without the fear of the Lord, as the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it: for such a man, though he has but little, which is the common portion of good men, yet he does not lack; be has enough, and is content; what he has he has with a blessing, and he enjoys it, and God in it, and has communion with him; and has also other bread to eat, the world knows nothing of: and particularly having the fear of God, the eve of God is upon him with pleasure; his heart is towards him, and sympathizes with him in all his troubles; his hand communicates unto him both temporal and spiritual meat, which is given to them that fear the Lord; his angels encamp about him, his power protects him; his secrets are with him, and inconceivable and inexpressible goodness is laid up for him: wherefore he is better off with his little, having the fear of God, than another with his great abundance and affluence, being destitute of it: and besides, having a great deal of "trouble" along with his treasure; trouble in amassing and getting it together; trouble in keeping it from being lost, or taken away by thieves and, robbers, for fear of which he cannot sleep; trouble through an insatiable desire of having more; he has no rest nor peace because he has not so much as he would have, or others have. Besides, he has what he has with curse; God sends upon him cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all he sets his hand to, Deuteronomy 28:2; where the same word is used as here: and he has it also with the cry of the poor; so some render the word, "a noise" or "tumult" g; and interpret it of the cries and tears of those that are oppressed and injured; so Jarchi and Gersom; or, "with terror" h, as some render it; with the terrors of a guilty conscience, with the fear of hell and everlasting damnation. Better have a little with a good conscience, than ever so much attended with such circumstances; it is not any man's little, but the good man's little, that is preferable to the wicked man's much; see Psalms 37:16.

g מהומה "tumultus", Tigurine version, Montanus, Vatablus; "strepitus", Mercerus. h "Terror", Aben Ezra.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This proverb has its completion in the teaching of Matthew 6:33.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 15:16. Better is little with the fear of the Lord — Because where the fear of God is, there are moderation and contentment of spirit.


 
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