Add parallel Print Page Options

Many curry favor with a noble;
    everybody is a friend of a gift giver.
All the kin of the poor despise them;
    how much more do their friends shun them![a]
Those who gain sense truly love themselves;
    those who preserve understanding will find success.[b]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 19:7 Closely related to vv. 4 and 6. An observation, not without sympathy, on the social isolation of poor people.
  2. 19:8 Wisdom benefits the one who practices it.

Many curry favor with a ruler,(A)
    and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.(B)

The poor are shunned by all their relatives—
    how much more do their friends avoid them!(C)
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
    they are nowhere to be found.[a](D)

The one who gets wisdom loves life;
    the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.(E)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.