Amsal 15:16

15:16 Better ¹  is little with the fear of the Lord

than great wealth and turmoil ²  with it. ³ 

Mazmur 37:16

37:16 The little bit that a godly man owns is better than

the wealth of many evil men, ⁴ 

Mazmur 37:1

Psalm 37 ⁵ 

By David.

37:1 Do not fret ⁶  when wicked men seem to succeed! ⁷ 

Do not envy evildoers!

Titus 1:6-9

1:6 An elder must be blameless, ⁸  the husband of one wife, ⁹  with faithful children ¹⁰  who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion. 1:7 For the overseer ¹¹  must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, ¹²  not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain. 1:8 Instead he must be hospitable, devoted to what is good, sensible, upright, devout, and self-controlled. 1:9 He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, ¹³  so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching ¹⁴  and correct those who speak against it.

[15:16]  ¹ sn One of the frequent characteristics of wisdom literature is the “better” saying; it is a comparison of different but similar things to determine which is to be preferred. These two verses focus on spiritual things being better than troubled material things.

[15:16]  ² sn Turmoil refers to anxiety; the fear of the Lord alleviates anxiety, for it brings with it contentment and confidence.

[15:16]  ³ sn Not all wealth has turmoil with it. But the proverb is focusing on the comparison of two things – fear of the Lord with little and wealth with turmoil. Between these two, the former is definitely better.

[37:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “Better [is] a little to the godly one than the wealth of many evil ones.” The following verses explain why this is true. Though a godly individual may seem to have only meager possessions, he always has what he needs and will eventually possess the land. The wicked may prosper for a brief time, but will eventually be destroyed by divine judgment and lose everything.

[37:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 37. The psalmist urges his audience not to envy the wicked, but to trust in and obey the Lord, for he will destroy sinners and preserve the godly. When the smoke of judgment clears, the wicked will be gone, but the godly will remain and inherit God’s promised blessings. The psalm is an acrostic; every other verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[37:1]  ⁶ tn The verb form is singular (see vv. 3-10 as well, where the second person verbs and pronouns are also singular). The psalmist’s exhortation has a wisdom flavor to it; it is personalized for each member of his audience.

[37:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “over sinners.” The context indicates that the psalmist has in mind the apparent power and success of sinners. See v. 7b.

[1:6]  ⁸ tn Grk “if anyone is blameless…” as a continuation of v. 5b, beginning to describe the elder’s character.

[1:6]  ⁹ tn Or “married only once,” “devoted solely to his wife.” See the note on “wife” in 1 Tim 3:2; also 1 Tim 3:12; 5:9.

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “believing children.” The phrase could be translated “believing children,” but the parallel with 1 Tim 3:4 (“keeping his children in control”) argues for the sense given in the translation.

[1:7]  ¹¹ sn The overseer is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in this passage and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between these verses and 1 Tim 3:1-7.

[1:7]  ¹² tn Grk “as God’s steward.”

[1:9]  ¹³ tn Grk “the faithful message in accordance with the teaching” (referring to apostolic teaching).

[1:9]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the healthy teaching” (referring to what was just mentioned).