Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.
Parallel translations
- WEB It is better to dwell in a desert land, than with a contentious and fretful woman.
- KJV It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.
- ESV It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.
- NKJV Better to dwell in the wilderness, Than with a contentious and angry woman.
- NASB It is better to live in a desert land Than with a contentious and irritating woman.
- NLT It’s better to live alone in the desert than with a quarrelsome, complaining wife.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome, fretful wife. It matters as another vivid warning about the misery of constant contention.
Overview
Echoing verse 9, this proverb intensifies the picture — even harsh wilderness is preferable to ceaseless strife and irritability at home (Proverbs 21:9; 17:1). It urges all in a household to value peace. A gentle, peaceable spirit is precious in God's sight and a blessing to a home.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Prov 21:9Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
- Ps 55:6–7I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.
- Ps 120:5–6Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar!
- Jer 9:2If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people.
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 21:19 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.