All the brothers of a poor man hate him—how much more do his friends avoid him! He may pursue them with pleading, but they are nowhere to be found.
Parallel translations
- WEB All the relatives of the poor shun him: how much more do his friends avoid him! He pursues them with pleas, but they are gone.
- KJV All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.
- NKJV All the brothers of the poor hate him; How much more do his friends go far from him! He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him.
- NASB All the brothers of a poor person hate him; How much more do his friends abandon him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone.
- NLT The relatives of the poor despise them; how much more will their friends avoid them! Though the poor plead with them, their friends are gone.
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 relatives and friends. Poverty can leave a person isolated and ignored.
Overview
This proverb laments that the poor man is avoided by his own family and abandoned by his friends, who are 'gone' even as he pursues them with pleas. It exposes the painful loneliness that poverty often brings and the failure of human compassion. Such sober realism heightens the beauty of the gospel, in which God draws near to the poor and lowly (Ps. 113:7) and Christ welcomes the outcast.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 88:8You have removed my friends from me; You have made me repulsive to them; I am confined and cannot escape.
- Jas 2:15–16Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
- Prov 18:23The poor man pleads for mercy, but the rich man answers harshly.
- Prov 19:4Wealth attracts many friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend.
- 1 Jn 3:17–18If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?
- Ps 38:11My beloved and friends shun my disease, and my kinsmen stand at a distance.
- Ps 88:18You have removed my beloved and my friend; darkness is my closest companion.
- Prov 21:13Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.
- Eccl 9:15–16Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
- Luke 18:38–40So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
- Prov 14:20The poor man is hated even by his neighbor, but many are those who love the rich.
- Jas 2:6But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
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 19:7 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.