The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.
Parallel translations
- WEB The poor plead for mercy, but the rich answer harshly.
- BSB The poor man pleads for mercy, but the rich man answers harshly.
- NKJV The poor man uses entreaties, But the rich answers roughly.
- NASB A poor person utters pleadings, But a rich person answers defiantly.
- NLT The poor plead for mercy; the rich answer with insults.
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 must beg for mercy while the rich often reply harshly. The proverb soberly observes the harshness wealth can breed.
Overview
This proverb starkly contrasts the poor, who can only plead for mercy, with the rich, who answer roughly. It is an observation that exposes a common injustice rather than endorsing it. Scripture calls God's people to compassion toward the poor (Prov. 14:31), and the gospel reveals a Lord who, though rich, became poor for our sake (2 Cor. 8:9) and answers the needy with mercy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Jas 2:3And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
- Jas 1:9–11Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:
- Jas 2:6But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
- Exod 5:2And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
- 1 Sam 25:17Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.
- 2 Kgs 4:1–2Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.
- Isa 66:2For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
- Matt 5:3Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- 1 Sam 25:10And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.
- Gen 42:30The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.
- 1 Sam 2:36And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.
- Gen 42:7And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
- Ruth 2:7And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.
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 18:23 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.