Bible Strands
Proverbs 17:1
Better a dry morsel in quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The book of Proverbs addresses its audience with a direct comparison between domestic peace and chaotic abundance.
The words — חֲרֵבָה (Cha.re.vah) means dry, and שַׁלְוָה (shal.vah) means quietness, standing in contrast to רִיב (Riv), which denotes strife.
The thread — This preference for peace over plenty appears in Proverbs 15:17, Psalms 37:16, and Proverbs 21:19.
Why it lands — The text commands readers to value relational quiet over material abundance, establishing peace as the practical standard for a well-ordered life.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 15:17 Better a dish of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred.
- Psalms 37:16 Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.
- Proverbs 21:19 Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.
- Proverbs 21:9 Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
- Proverbs 7:14 “I have made my peace offerings; today I have paid my vows.