Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Proverbs 16:19 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 19. 19Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse contributes the claim, image, or instruction “Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud”.
Read It With
- Proverbs 16:18–22
The line at Proverbs 16:19 contributes the claim, image, or instruction “Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud”. Its place in Proverbs 16:18–22 matters because the edited collection joins it to humility, teachability, pride, and reputation, wisdom, folly, teachability, and moral perception, reverent accountability before the LORD.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The unit needs this line's exact work: it contributes the claim, image, or instruction “Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud”. That placement develops humility, teachability, pride, and reputation, wisdom, folly, teachability, and moral perception, reverent accountability before the LORD while leaving exceptional cases visible.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to...”
In plain language: humility, teachability, pride, and reputation
This verse contributes the claim, image, or instruction “Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud”.
Why it matters: This wording gives the verse its distinct role inside the cluster.
How certain? strongWhat Remains True
Teachability and truthful self-knowledge are safer than status-protection, self-exaltation, or contempt for correction. In Proverbs 16:19, that bounded truth is expressed through “Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to...,” not through a promise detached from its literary form.
How It Can Shape Life
- Invite specific feedback, test your assumptions, share credit, and repair the effects of pride rather than performing modesty. For Proverbs 16:19, preserve the sequence: verse role (contributes the claim, image, or instruction “Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud”) -> contextual meaning in Proverbs 16:18–22 -> proportionate truth -> this accountable response.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Proverbs 16:18–22 — Humility, teachability, pride, and reputation — Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit...Sources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
Where care is needed
This sentence saying states a context-shaped moral pattern. Its small-cluster boundary and degree of generality remain reviewable; exceptional outcomes do not make the observation meaningless or turn it into a guarantee.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV words, canonical order, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and complete unit coverage.
Exact location: Proverbs 16:18–22, repository-pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Proverbs
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology used only for the exact unit's lexical, grammatical, parallel, superscription, number-saying, and acrostic questions.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Prov.xml, OSIS 16:18-16:22
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Proverbs with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-attached textual, lexical, grammatical, syntactic, parallelism, and older-English controls for the exact range.
Exact location: NET Bible Proverbs PDF, printed pp. 1125-1128, exact tc/tn/sn entries attached to 16:18–22
Open source ↗