A good name is more desirable than great riches; favor is better than silver and gold.
Parallel translations
- WEB A good name is more desirable than great riches, and loving favor is better than silver and gold.
- KJV A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
- NKJV A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.
- NASB A good name is to be more desired than great wealth; Favor is better than silver and gold.
- NLT Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold.
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 good reputation and favor are worth more than great riches. It matters because character and integrity outweigh material wealth.
Overview
A 'good name' — a reputation built on righteousness — is more valuable than silver and gold (Ecclesiastes 7:1; Proverbs 3:3-4). The verse reorders our priorities toward integrity over wealth. The highest treasure is to be found pleasing to God, whose favor is life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Eccl 7:1A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.
- Luke 10:20Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
- 1 Kgs 1:47The king’s servants have also gone to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than your own name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ And the king has bowed in worship on his bed,
- Acts 7:10and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.
- Phil 4:3Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have labored with me for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
- Heb 11:39These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 22:1 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
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.