A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
A (good) name (cf. Ecclesiastes 7:1 ) is rather to be chosen ... (and) loving favour rather the silver. Since "favour" by itself sufficiently expresses the kindly feeling or esteem of others toward one, it is better to translate as margin, 'Favour is better than silver.' So the Chaldaic and Syriac; but the Vulgate, Septuagint, and Arabic support the English version. Character is better than riches, because its foundation is better-namely, virtue; its acquisition harder, its compass wider, its utility greater, its duration longer, its loss more fatal (Proverbs 4:9; Proverbs 13:15). Compare Joseph, Genesis 39:4; Genesis 39:21; Esther, Esther 2:15.