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Better is he who is lightly esteemed, and has a servant, Than he who honors himself, and lacks bread.
Verse Takeaways
1
Substance Over Status
All commentators agree that this proverb champions humble reality over proud pretense. It teaches that it is far better to be a person of modest means who can provide for their basic needs than to be someone who boasts of high status or family lineage while secretly starving. The verse warns against prioritizing social image over actual well-being.
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4
18th Century
Presbyterian
Two interpretations are equally tenable:
19th Century
Anglican
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
17th Century
Reformed Baptist
[He that is] despised, and has a servant Meaning not the same person as before, but one in mean circumstances of lif…
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He who lives in a humble state, who has no one to serve him, but earns his bread by his own labor, is happier than he who glories in high birth or …
