Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of feasting with strife.
Parallel translations
- KJV Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.
- BSB Better a dry morsel in quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.
- NKJV Better is a dry morsel with quietness, Than a house full of feasting with strife.
- NASB Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it Than a house full of feasting with strife.
- NLT Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house filled with feasting—and conflict.
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 simple meal with peace is better than a feast filled with conflict. It matters because harmony at home outweighs abundance marred by strife.
Overview
This 'better than' proverb prizes a dry crust eaten in quietness over a house full of feasting and contention. Peace and tranquility are of greater worth than plenty accompanied by discord. It echoes earlier proverbs on love over luxury (Proverbs 15:17) and commends the peacemaking spirit Christ blesses (Matthew 5:9).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Prov 15:17Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than a fattened calf with hatred.
- Ps 37:16Better is a little that the righteous has, than the abundance of many wicked.
- Prov 21:19It is better to dwell in a desert land, than with a contentious and fretful woman.
- Prov 21:9It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than to share a house with a contentious woman.
- Prov 7:14“Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me. Today I have paid my vows.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 17:1 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
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