Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
Parallel translations
- WEB Better is little, with the fear of Yahweh, than great treasure with trouble.
- KJV Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.
- NKJV Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, Than great treasure with trouble.
- NASB Better is a little with the fear of the Lord Than great treasure, and turmoil with the treasure.
- NLT Better to have little, with fear for the Lord, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A small portion held with reverence for God is better than great wealth weighed down by anxiety. It matters because the fear of the Lord, not abundance, is the true treasure.
Overview
One of several 'better than' proverbs, this verse weighs little-with-godliness against riches-with-turmoil and decisively prefers the former. Wealth gained or held apart from the fear of Yahweh brings trouble of soul, while reverent contentment is genuine gain. The New Testament echoes this in teaching that godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Prov 16:8Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.
- Ps 37:16Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.
- Eccl 5:10–12He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
- 1 Tim 6:6Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
- Prov 28:6Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a rich man whose ways are perverse.
- Prov 10:22The blessing of the LORD enriches, and He adds no sorrow to it.
- Eccl 2:18–23I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.
- Eccl 2:10–11Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 15:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.