Riches may ransom a man’s life, but a poor man hears no threat.
Parallel translations
- WEB The ransom of a man’s life is his riches, but the poor hear no threats.
- KJV The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.
- NKJV The ransom of a man’s life is his riches, But the poor does not hear rebuke.
- NASB The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth, But the poor hears no rebuke.
- NLT The rich can pay a ransom for their lives, but the poor won’t even get threatened.
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
Riches can ransom a wealthy man's life, but the poor face no such threats. Wealth carries hidden burdens as well as benefits.
Overview
The proverb observes a sober irony: a rich man's money may buy his safety, yet it also makes him a target, while the poor escape extortion and threats. It tempers any envy of wealth by noting its anxieties and dangers. No earthly ransom can buy eternal life, however; only Christ's blood ransoms the soul (Mark 10:45; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Matt 16:26What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
- 1 Pet 1:18–19For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- 2 Kgs 24:14He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.
- Ps 49:6–10They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
- Jer 39:10But Nebuzaradan left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who had no property, and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.
- Job 2:4“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life.
- Zeph 3:12But I will leave within you a meek and humble people, and they will trust in the name of the LORD.
- 2 Kgs 25:12But the captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.
- Jer 41:8But ten of the men among them said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us, for we have hidden treasure in the field—wheat, barley, oil, and honey!” So he refrained from killing them with the others.
- Exod 21:30If payment is demanded of him instead, he may redeem his life by paying the full amount demanded of him.
- Prov 6:35He will not be appeased by any ransom, or persuaded by lavish gifts.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 13:8 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.