The godly care about the rights of the poor; the wicked don’t care at all.
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.
- BSB The righteous consider the cause of the poor, but the wicked have no regard for such concerns.
- 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.
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. The cause of him who I didn’t know, I searched out.
- Ps 41:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. Blessed is he who considers the poor. Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil.
- Prov 21:13Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he will also cry out, but shall not be heard.
- Prov 31:8–9Open your mouth for the mute, in the cause of all who are left desolate.
- Gal 6:1Brothers, even if a man is caught in some fault, you who are spiritual must restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to yourself so that you also aren’t tempted.
- Jer 5:28They have grown fat. They shine; yes, they excel in deeds of wickedness. They don’t plead the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and they don’t judge the right of the needy.
- Jer 22:15–17“Shall you reign, because you strive to excel in cedar? Didn’t your father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him.
- 1 Sam 25:9–11When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal all those words in the name of David, and waited.
- Ezek 22:29–31The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery. Yes, they have troubled the poor and needy, and have oppressed the foreigner wrongfully.
- Job 31:21if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate,
- Job 31:13“If I have despised the cause of my male servant or of my female servant, when they contended with me;
- Ps 31:7I will be glad and rejoice in your loving kindness, for you have seen my affliction. You have known my soul in adversities.
- Ezek 22:7In you have they treated father and mother with contempt. Among you they have oppressed the foreigner. In you they have wronged the fatherless and the widow.
- Mic 3:1–4I said, “Please listen, you heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: Isn’t it for you to know justice?
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 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
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.