Charles Ellicott Commentary Proverbs 12:9

"Better is he that is lightly esteemed, and hath a servant, Than he that honoreth himself, and lacketh bread." — Proverbs 12:9 (ASV)

He that is despised. —That is, lowly in his own eyes and those of others, as David (1 Samuel 18:23); if he has a servant, that is, if he is in easy circumstances. It has been remarked that “the first necessity of an Oriental in only moderate circumstances is a slave.”

He that honors himself. —Boasts of his pedigree, it may be, and is all the while starving.