Proverbs 12:7

12:7 The wicked are overthrown ¹  and perish, ² 

but the righteous household ³  will stand.

Proverbs 21:9

21:9 It is better to live on a corner of the housetop ⁴ 

than in a house in company ⁵  with a quarrelsome wife. ⁶ 

Proverbs 25:24

25:24 It is better to live on a corner of the housetop

than in a house in company with a quarrelsome wife. ⁷ 

Proverbs 27:10

27:10 Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend,

and do not enter your brother’s house in the day of your disaster;

a neighbor nearby is better than a brother far away. ⁸ 

[12:7]  ¹ sn This proverb is about the stability of the righteous in times of trouble. The term “overthrown” might allude to Gen 19:21.

[12:7]  ² tn Heb “and they are not.”

[12:7]  ³ tn Heb “the house of the righteous.” The genitive צַדִּיקִים (tsadiqim) functions as an attributive adjective: “righteous house.” The noun בֵּית (bet, “house”) functions as a synecdoche of container (= house) for the contents (= family, household; perhaps household possessions). Cf. NCV “a good person’s family”; NLT “the children of the godly.”

[21:9]  ⁴ tn English versions which translate the Hebrew term as “roof” here sometimes produce amusing images for modern readers: TEV “Better to live on the roof”; CEV “It’s better to stay outside on the roof of your house.”

[21:9]  ⁵ tn The “house of company” has received numerous interpretations. The word “company” or “companionship” would qualify “house” as a place to be shared. The BHS editors propose “spacious house,” which would call for a transposition of letters (cf. NAB “a roomy house”; NLT “a lovely home”). Such an emendation makes good sense, but has no external support.

[21:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “a wife of contentions”; KJV “a brawling woman”; TEV, CEV “a nagging wife.” The Greek version has no reference to a quarrelsome wife, but instead mentions justice in a common house.

[25:24]  ⁷ tn This proverb is identical with 21:9; see the notes there.

[27:10]  ¹⁰ sn The meaning of the verse is very difficult, although the translation is rather straightforward. It may simply be saying that people should retain family relationships but will discover that a friend who is available is better than a relative who is not. But C. H. Toy thinks that the verse is made up of three lines that have no connection: 10a instructs people to maintain relationships, 10b says not to go to a brother’s house [only?] when disaster strikes, and 10c observes that a nearby friend is better than a far-away relative. C. H. Toy suggests a connection may have been there, but has been lost (Proverbs [ICC], 485-86). The conflict between 17:17 and 10b may be another example of presenting two sides of the issue, a fairly frequent occurrence in the book of Proverbs.