There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
Parallel translations
- WEB There are some who pretend to be rich, yet have nothing. There are some who pretend to be poor, yet have great wealth.
- BSB One pretends to be rich, but has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
- NKJV There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.
- NASB There is one who pretends to be rich but has nothing; Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.
- NLT Some who are poor pretend to be rich; others who are rich pretend to be poor.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Appearances often deceive: some feign wealth while having nothing, others feign poverty while truly rich. True worth is not measured by outward show.
Overview
This observational proverb exposes the gap between appearance and reality in the matter of wealth, warning against both pretension and hasty judgment. It cautions the wise not to be impressed by display, since outward status can mask spiritual or material emptiness. Scripture elsewhere teaches that lasting riches are spiritual, and that in Christ one may be 'poor, yet making many rich' (2 Corinthians 6:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Luke 18:11–14The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
- Rev 3:17Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
- Prov 11:24There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
- Prov 12:9He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.
- Prov 13:11Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.
- 2 Cor 6:10As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
- Jas 2:5Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
- 2 Cor 4:7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
- Luke 12:21So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
- 2 Pet 2:19While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
- Eccl 11:1–2Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
- 1 Cor 4:10–11We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.
- Luke 12:33Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
- Rev 2:9I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
- 1 Cor 4:8Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 13:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.