Berean Standard Bible
Proverbs 13:8
8Riches may ransom a man’s life, but a poor man hears no threat.
Proverbs 13:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.
- New International Version (NIV)A person’s riches may ransom their life, but the poor cannot respond to threatening rebukes.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The ransom of a man's life is his wealth, but a poor man hears no threat.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The ransom of a man’s life is his riches, But the poor does not hear rebuke.
Context of Proverbs 13:8
6Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness undermines the sinner. 7One pretends to be rich, but has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. Riches may ransom a man’s life, but a poor man hears no threat. 9The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is extinguished. 10Arrogance leads only to strife, but wisdom is with the well-advised.
Read all of Proverbs 13Proverbs 13:8 word by word
כֹּ֣פֶר נֶֽפֶשׁ־אִ֣ישׁ עָשְׁר֑וֹ וְ֝רָ֗שׁ לֹא־שָׁמַ֥ע גְּעָרָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Proverbs 13:8
- Proverbs 6:35He will not be appeased by any ransom, or persuaded by lavish gifts.
- Exodus 21:30If payment is demanded of him instead, he may redeem his life by paying the full amount demanded of him.
- Job 2:4“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life.
- Psalms 49:6They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
- Jeremiah 41:8But ten of the men among them said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us, for we have hidden treasure in the field—wheat, barley, oil, and honey!” So he refrained from killing them with the others.
- Matthew 16:26What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
- 1 Peter 1:18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- 2 Kings 24:14He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.
- 2 Kings 25:12But the captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.
- Jeremiah 39:10But Nebuzaradan left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who had no property, and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.
- Zephaniah 3:12But I will leave within you a meek and humble people, and they will trust in the name of the LORD.
Commentaries on Proverbs 13:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8The ransom of a man's life - Those who have riches have often much trouble with them; as they had much trouble to get them, so they have much trouble to keep them. In despotic countries, a rich man is often accused of some capital crime, and to save his life, though he may be quite innocent, is obliged to give up his riches; but the poor, in such countries, are put to no trouble.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8On the one side is the seeming advantage of wealth. The rich man who gets out of many troubles often escapes from a just retribution by his money. But then the poor man in his turn is free from the risk of the threats and litigation that beset the rich. He “hears no rebuke” (the words are not used as in Proverbs 13:1) just as the dead “hear not the voice of the oppressor” Job 3:18 or the abuse of the envious.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8Verse 8 Great riches often tempt to violence against those that possess them; but the poor are free from such perils.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Money can be a blessing or a curse (see Proverbs 3:9–10; 21:6).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Riches save some from punishment, while others suffer because they will not heed the rebuke of sloth, which makes and keeps them poor.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 13:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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