Those who mock the poor insult their Maker; those who rejoice at the misfortune of others will be punished.
Parallel translations
- WEB Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker. He who is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.
- KJV Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
- BSB He who mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.
- ESV Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
- NKJV He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
- NASB One who mocks the poor taunts his Maker; One who rejoices at disaster will not go unpunished.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
Mocking the poor insults God their Maker, and gloating over disaster invites punishment. It matters because how we treat the poor reflects our reverence, or contempt, for God.
Overview
This proverb teaches that scorn for the poor is an affront to the Creator who made them, and that rejoicing over others' calamity brings judgment. All people bear God's image, so despising the lowly dishonors Him. It reflects God's tender concern for the poor and warns against a cruel, gloating heart (Proverbs 14:31).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Prov 14:31He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him.
- Job 31:29“If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him
- 1 Jn 3:17But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart of compassion against him, how does God’s love remain in him?
- Obad 1:11–13In the day that you stood on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots for Jerusalem, even you were like one of them.
- Prov 24:17–18Don’t rejoice when your enemy falls. Don’t let your heart be glad when he is overthrown;
- Prov 14:21He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who has pity on the poor.
- Prov 16:5Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to Yahweh: they shall certainly not be unpunished.
- Rom 12:15Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
- Ps 69:9For the zeal of your house consumes me. The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
- Jer 17:16As for me, I have not hurried from being a shepherd after you; neither have I desired the woeful day; you know. That which came out of my lips was before your face.
- Obad 1:16For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so will all the nations drink continually. Yes, they will drink, swallow down, and will be as though they had not been.
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 17:5 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.