Proverbs 17:1 (DRB)

Passage

Better is a dry morsel with joy, than a house full of victims with strife.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 17:1 Better is a dry morsel with joy, than a house full of victims with strife.

Proverbs 17:2 A wise servant shall rule over foolish sons, and shall divide the inheritance among the brethren.

Proverbs 17:3 As silver is tried by fire, and gold in the furnace: so the Lord trieth the hearts.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "better", "morsel", "than", "house", "full", "victims", and "strife". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "better" and "morsel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "A wise servant shall rule over foolish...", so "better" and "morsel" should be read forward into that movement. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "better" and "morsel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.