Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
Parallel translations
- WEB It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than to share a house with a contentious woman.
- KJV It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.
- ESV It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
- NKJV Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.
- NASB It is better to live on a corner of a roof Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.
- NLT It’s better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home.
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 cramped rooftop corner than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. It matters as a vivid warning about the misery of constant strife at home.
Overview
Repeated in Proverbs 25:24, this proverb dramatizes how domestic contention can make even comfort unbearable, prizing peace over space. It speaks to both spouses about the value of a peaceable home (Proverbs 17:1). Peace and harmony are gifts to be cultivated under God in family life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Prov 21:19Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.
- Prov 19:13A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
- Prov 27:15–16A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike—
- Prov 25:24Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
- Prov 12:4A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but she who causes shame is like decay in his bones.
- Prov 17:1Better a dry morsel in quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.
- Prov 15:17Better a dish of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 21:9 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.