PROV 12:9 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=minor/spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) It’s better to be little known yet have a servant,
⇔ than to be self-important but have nothing to eat.

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Κρείσσων ἀνὴρ ἐν ἀτιμίᾳ δουλεύων ἑαυτῷ, ἢ τιμὴν ἑαυτῷ περιτιθεὶς καὶ προσδεόμενος ἄρτου.
(Kreissōn anaʸr en atimia douleuōn heautōi, aʸ timaʸn heautōi perititheis kai prosdeomenos artou. )

BrTr Better is a man in dishonour serving himself, than one honouring himself and wanting bread.

ULT Better is being disregarded and having a servant
⇔ than honoring oneself and lacking bread.

UST It is better to be a lowly person yet have a servant
⇔ than to think that you are important yet have no food.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE Better is he who is little known, and has a servant,
⇔ than he who honours himself and lacks bread.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Better is a person of humble standing who nevertheless has a servant,
⇔ than one who pretends to be somebody important yet has no food.

LSV Better [is] the lightly esteemed who has a servant,
Than the self-honored who lacks bread.

FBV Better to be a humble man serving himself than a boastful man who has nothing to eat.

T4T ⇔ It is better to be a humble/ordinary person who has only one servant
⇔ than to think that you are very important while you have nothing to eat.

LEB • It is better to be lowly and a servant to someone[fn] than self-glorifying and lacking food.

12:? Literally “for him,” “belonging to him”

BBE He who is of low position and has a servant, is better than one who has a high opinion of himself and is in need of bread.

Moff Better a man of low rank, with a servant,
⇔ than one who makes a show and has to do his own work.

JPS Better is he that is lightly esteemed, and hath a servant, than he that playeth the man of rank, and lacketh bread.

ASV Better is he that is lightly esteemed, and hath a servant,
⇔ Than he that honoreth himself, and lacketh bread.

DRA Better is the poor man that provideth for himself, than he that is glorious and wanteth bread.

YLT Better [is] the lightly esteemed who hath a servant, Than the self-honoured who lacketh bread.

Drby Better is he that is lightly esteemed, and hath a servant, than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.

RV Better is he that is lightly esteemed, and hath a servant, than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.
(Better is he that is lightly esteemed, and hath/has a servant, than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread. )

SLT He is good being despised, and a servant to him above him, honoring himself, and wanting bread.

Wbstr He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoreth himself, and is destitute of bread.

KJB-1769 He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.
(He that is despised, and hath/has a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread. )

KJB-1611 He that is despised and hath a seruant, is better then he that honoureth himselfe, and lacketh bread.
(He that is despised and hath/has a servant, is better then he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.)

Bshps He that is dispised and is yet his owne man, is better then the glorious that lacketh bread.
(He that is despised and is yet his own man, is better then the glorious that lacketh bread.)

Gnva He that is despised, and is his owne seruant, is better then he that boasteth himselfe and lacketh bread.
(He that is despised, and is his own servant, is better then he that boasteth himself and lacketh bread. )

Cvdl A simple man which laboureth and worketh, is better the one that is gorgious and wanteth bred.
(A simple man which laboureth and worketh/works, is better the one that is gorgeous and wanteth bred.)

Wycl Betere is a pore man, and sufficient to him silf, than a gloriouse man, and nedi of breed.
(Better is a poor man, and sufficient to himself, than a glorious man, and needy of bread.)

Luth Wer gering ist und wartet des Seinen, der ist besser, denn der groß sein will, dem des Brots mangelt.
(Who small/little is and waits the his_(one), the/of_the is better, because/than the/of_the large be will, to_him the bread lacking.)

ClVg Melior est pauper et sufficiens sibi quam gloriosus et indigens pane.
(Better it_is poor and sufficiens to_himself how glorious and indigens pane. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

This section is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs. It has a very different structure from the longer poetic lectures of chapters 1–9. It consists mostly of individual couplets (two-line poems) that are each one verse in length. With the exception of the title (10:1a), paragraph breaks will not be indicated in the Notes or Display. You may of course choose to start each proverb as a separate paragraph in your translation.

In chapters 10–15, most of these one-verse couplets express a contrast between the two lines. One of the more common contrasts is between the righteous/wise and the wicked/foolish and the different consequences of their conduct.

In chapters 16:1–22:16, more topics are discussed. There is more emphasis on the role of the king and other leaders. In these chapters, there are few proverbs with contrasting lines. Some of the parallel lines are similar in meaning. More frequently, the second line adds to what the first line says or gives an example. Most of the verses have no obvious connection with the previous or following proverbs.UBS (page 214), Fox (page 509), McKane (page 413). Many scholars, including McKane, point out that there are some topical groupings as well as poetic connections. These include the repetition of certain words or sounds. This observation does not deny the individual nature of most of the proverbs in this Section.

Two of the types of proverbs in this section are not found in chapters 1–9. One type contains logical reasoning from the lesser to the greater. See 11:31 for a list of these proverbs. There are also several varieties of complex “better than” proverbs. The most common have a contrasting situation in each line (see 12:9). For other varieties, see 16:16, 19:1, and 21:9.

Many of the proverbs in this section refer to categories of people who share a common trait. For example, they refer to the righteous, the wise, the poor, and the lazy. In Hebrew, some verses use singular forms to refer to these groups of people. Other verses use plural forms. Still others use a combination of singular and plural. See the note on 10:30a–b for one example. For most of these verses, the Notes will not comment on the difference between singular and plural forms. Use a natural way in your language to refer to one or more people who are in the same category.

Many of the proverbs in this section express a general principle in abstract terms. They are not addressed specifically to the readers. For example, 10:2a–b says:

Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,

but righteousness delivers from death.

However, the author intended his readers to understand these proverbs as advice that they should follow. In some languages, authors or speakers give advice more directly, using pronouns such as you^(sing), you^(plur), we^(dual), or we^(incl). See the note on 10:2 for translation suggestions.

Some other headings for this section are:

Proverbs of Solomon (NIV)

The Wise Words of Solomon (NCV)

Here are many wise things that Solomon said

12:9

This proverb compares the living situation of two people. The situation of the person in 12:9a is better than the situation of the person in 12:9b. Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

^9aBetter to be lightly esteemed and yet have a servant,

^9bthan to be self-important but lack food.

Verse 12:9a describes an unimportant person. But at least this person has a servant, which indicates a moderate standard of living. This person’s life is better than the person in 12:9b, who pretends to be important but does not have enough food to eat.

This is the first four-part “better than” proverb in this book. It compares two different situations. In each situation there is something good and something bad. This type of proverb has the following pattern:

It is better to have A (bad/undesirable situation) + B (very good/desirable situation)

than to have C (good/desirable situation) + D (very bad/undesirable situation)

For 12:9, the four parts are:

A: low social status (undesirable)

B: has a servant (very desirable)

C: appears to be important (desirable)

D: has no food (very undesirable)

The overall situation in the first line (A + B) is better than the overall situation in the second line (C + D). The reason is that the very desirable situation is more important than the very undesirable situation. It has a greater overall effect.Waltke (pp. 525–526) and Fox (p. 597) have essentially the same analysis of these complex four-part “better than” proverbs.

The other proverbs with this pattern are 15:16, 15:17, 16:8, 16:19, 17:1, 27:5, and 28:6.

12:9a

Better to be lightly esteemed yet have a servant,

It is better for a person to have low status and yet have a servant
The life/situation of an ordinary person who at least has one servant is better

Better to be lightly esteemed: The phrase to be lightly esteemed means to be considered unimportant or of low social status. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

a person of humble standing (NET)

to be unimportant (GW)

to be an ordinary person (NLT)

yet have a servant: There is a textual issue here:The textual issue involves the vowels that are used in the word that the BSB translates as “servant.” The choice of vowels affects the meaning of the following preposition (lo). With the vowels used in the MT (ʿebed), the word means “servant” and the following preposition means “to.” With the vowels used in the LXX (ʿobed), the word means “works” and the following preposition means “for.” See McKane (p. 37).

The Masoretic Text is literally “and-a-servant to-him.” This means that he has a servant, perhaps implying only one servant. For example:
It’s better to be ordinary and have only one servant (CEV) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, KJV, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, NRSV)
The LXX is literally “and-works for-himself.” This means that he is self-supporting or earns his own living. For example:
It is better to be an ordinary person working for a living (GNT) (REB, RSV, GNT)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most versions and scholars.

If the significance of having a servant is not clear in your culture, you may want to add a footnote. A suggested footnote is:

In the Jewish culture of that time, a person who had a servant was not considered to be wealthy. However, he could live fairly comfortably, because his servant did most of the hard work.

12:9b

than to be self-important but lack food.

than to pretend to be someone of high status and have nothing to eat.
than the person who acts like he is important but lacks food.

than to be self-important but lack food: This line indicates that the person pretends to have a higher status than he actually has. In reality, he is poor and lacks food. Some other ways to translate this line are:

than pretend to be somebody and have no food (NIV)

than to act important and have nothing to eat (GW)

General Comment on 12:9a–b

In some languages, it may be difficult to express a complex comparison in one sentence. Another way to translate it is to divide this verse into two sentences and change the order of 12:9a and 12:9b. For example:

^9bSome people pretend to be of high status, but the truth is that they have nothing to eat.

^9aIt is better if people consider you to be someone of low status, but at least you have one servant.

Parallel PROV 12:9

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

12:9

12:9a

12:9b

General Comment on 12:9a–b