The poor man is hated even by his neighbor, but many are those who love the rich.
Parallel translations
- WEB The poor person is shunned even by his own neighbor, but the rich person has many friends.
- KJV The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.
- NKJV The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor, But the rich has many friends.
- NASB The poor is hated even by his neighbor, But those who love the rich are many.
- NLT The poor are despised even by their neighbors, while the rich have many “friends.”
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
The poor are shunned even by neighbors, while the rich attract many friends. This exposes the shallowness of fair-weather friendship.
Overview
This proverb candidly observes the social reality that wealth draws crowds while poverty repels even neighbors. Rather than endorsing this pattern, it exposes the fickleness of friendships based on advantage. The contrast sets the stage for the next verse's call to mercy and rebukes the partiality that Scripture condemns (James 2:1-9).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Prov 19:4Wealth attracts many friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend.
- Prov 10:15The wealth of the rich man is his fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
- Job 30:10They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
- Prov 19:6–7Many seek the favor of the prince, and everyone is a friend of the gift giver.
- Esth 3:2All the royal servants at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded that this be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.
- Esth 5:10–11Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. And calling for his friends and his wife Zeresh,
- Job 19:13–14He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me.
- Job 6:21–23For now you are of no help; you see terror, and you are afraid.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 14:20 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.