Proverbs 21:19
17 He who loves pleasure will become poor; the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.
18 The wicked become a ransom for the righteous, and the faithless for the upright.
Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.
20 Precious treasures and oil are in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man consumes them.
21 He who pursues righteousness and loving devotion finds life, righteousness, and honor.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.
- KJV
- It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.
- WEB
- It is better to dwell in a desert land, than with a contentious and fretful woman.
- ASV
- It is better to dwell in a desert land, Than with a contentious and fretful woman.
- DARBY
- It is better to dwell in a desert land. than with a contentious and irritable woman.
- BLB
- Better to dwell in a land of wilderness than with a woman of quarrels and provocation.
- ÅB
- Bedre å bo i et øde land enn hos en arg og trettekjær kvinne.
- OTB
- Bedre å bo i en ørken enn med en kranglevoren og irritabel kvinne.
- B1930
- Bedre å bo i et øde land enn hos en arg og trettekjær kvinne.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Proverbs 21:9
Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
Read in contextPsalms 55:6–7
I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.
Read in contextPsalms 120:5–6
Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar!
Read in contextJeremiah 9:2
If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people.
Read in context