This verse belongs to the YHWH run, Proverbs 16:1–9.
Quick answer
A small honest living beats a fortune with injustice in its foundations, and the proverb means the pricing literally: when the two conflict, take the little.
Read both lines
The "better than" form forces a choice the market never forces. The comparison is honest: not an honest wage against stolen goods, but against real, plausible revenues whose injustice is buried in how they were made. The ranking only makes sense inside the run's frame: the LORD who weighs spirits (v. 2) and owns the scales (v. 11) is a factor in the accounting, and wealth that costs justice was purchased with the one currency He audits.
Related: Proverbs 15:16 · Proverbs 28:6 · Psalm 37:16
New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. Full copyright information. Scripture provided by API.Bible.
Go Deeper
If this verse has been used to put weight on you that it was never carrying, ask about it directly.