The righteous consider the cause of the poor, but the wicked have no regard for such concerns.
Parallel translations
- WEB The righteous care about justice for the poor. The wicked aren’t concerned about knowledge.
- KJV The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.
- NKJV The righteous considers the cause of the poor, But the wicked does not understand such knowledge.
- NASB The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor; The wicked does not understand such concern.
- NLT The godly care about the rights of the poor; the wicked don’t care at all.
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 righteous care about justice for the poor, while the wicked disregard it. It marks concern for the vulnerable as a mark of true righteousness.
Overview
The proverb distinguishes the righteous, who attend to justice for the poor, from the wicked, who are indifferent to such knowledge and care. Godly character expresses itself in compassion and advocacy for the needy. This reflects the heart of God for the poor, embodied by Christ, who proclaimed good news to them (Luke 4:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Job 29:16I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger.
- Ps 41:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Blessed is the one who cares for the poor; the LORD will deliver him in the day of trouble.
- Prov 21:13Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.
- Prov 31:8–9Open your mouth for those with no voice, for the cause of all the dispossessed.
- Gal 6:1Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
- Jer 5:28They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the rights of the needy.
- Jer 22:15–17Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him.
- 1 Sam 25:9–11When David’s young men arrived, they relayed all these words to Nabal on behalf of David. Then they waited.
- Ezek 22:29–31The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and have exploited the foreign resident without justice.
- Job 31:21if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,
- Job 31:13If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against me,
- Ps 31:7I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion, for You have seen my affliction; You have known the anguish of my soul.
- Ezek 22:7Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.
- Mic 3:1–4Then I said: “Hear now, O leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice?
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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 29:7 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
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