Proverbs 22.1

type: passage created: 2026-05-06 updated: 2026-05-06 book: Proverbs chapter: 22 verses: "1" translation_default: ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT tags: [scripture] citation_count: 1 enriched: false

Quoted in

H8034 - shem

Proverbs 22.1

Book: Proverbs · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, And loving favor rather than silver and gold."

"2. The rich and the poor meet together: Jehovah is the maker of them all. 3. A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself; But the simple pass on, and suffer for it." (Proverbs 22:1-3, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. A good name is more desirable than great riches, and loving favor is better than silver and gold."

"2. The rich and the poor have this in common: Yahweh is the maker of them all. 3. A prudent man sees danger, and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it." (Proverbs 22:1-3, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. ^{loving: or, favour is better than, etc}"

"2. The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all. 3. A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished." (Proverbs 22:1-3, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. A name is chosen rather than much wealth, Than silver and than gold, good grace."

"2. Rich and poor have met together, The Maker of them all [is] Jehovah. 3. The prudent hath seen the evil, and is hidden, And the simple have passed on, and are punished." (Proverbs 22:1-3, 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

H2580 - chen, chen (Strong's H2580). Also appears in: Genesis 6.8, Genesis 18.1-15, Genesis 19.
H2896 - tov, tov (Strong's H2896). Also appears in: Genesis 1.14-19, Genesis 1.21, Genesis 1.24-28.
H8034 - shem, shem (Strong's H8034). Also appears in: Genesis 3, Genesis 4.26, Genesis 6.4.

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.