Passage
Proverbs 16.18
Book: Proverbs · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
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ASV (ASV)
"16. How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! Yea, to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver. 17. The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: He that keepeth his way preserveth his soul."
"18. Pride goeth before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall."
"19. Better it is to be of a lowly spirit with the poor, Than to divide the spoil with the proud. 20. He that giveth heed unto the word shall find good; And whoso trusteth in Jehovah, happy is he." (Proverbs 16:16-20, ASV)
WEB (WEB)
"16. How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! Yes, to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. 17. The highway of the upright is to depart from evil. He who keeps his way preserves his soul."
"18. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."
"19. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor, than to divide the plunder with the proud. 20. He who heeds the Word finds prosperity. Whoever trusts in Yahweh is blessed." (Proverbs 16:16-20, WEB)
KJV (KJV)
"16. How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver! 17. The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul."
"18. Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
"19. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. 20. He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he. handleth: or, understandeth a matter" (Proverbs 16:16-20, KJV)
YLT (YLT)
"16. To get wisdom, how much better than gold, And to get understanding to be chosen than silver! 17. A highway of the upright [is], 'Turn from evil,' Whoso is preserving his soul is watching his way."
"18. Before destruction [is] pride, And before stumbling, a haughty spirit.'"
"19. Better is humility of spirit with the poor, Than to apportion spoil with the proud. 20. The wise in any matter findeth good, And whoso is trusting in Jehovah, O his happiness." (Proverbs 16:16-20, YLT)
Setting
- Speaker: Solomon (principal); Agur; Lemuel; wise men
- Audience: young Israelite men in the wisdom tradition
- Location: Israel, Solomonic court
- Time period: principal composition c. 970-930 BC (Solomon); compilation c. 700 BC (Hezekiah)
Theological reading
Key words
- H7307 - ruach, ruach (Strong's H7307). Also appears in: Genesis 1.2, Genesis 3.8, Genesis 6.
Quoted in
Why these four translations
ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.
The four:
- ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.
See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.