Christian Standard Bible
Proverbs 13:8
8Riches are a ransom for a person’s life, but a poor person 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 people of integrity, but wickedness undermines the sinner. 7One person pretends to be rich but has nothing; another pretends to be poor but has abundant wealth. Riches are a ransom for a person’s life, but a poor person hears no threat. 9The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is put out. 10Arrogance leads to nothing but strife, but wisdom is gained by those who take advice.
Read all of Proverbs 13Proverbs 13:8 word by word
כֹּ֣פֶר נֶֽפֶשׁ־אִ֣ישׁ עָשְׁר֑וֹ וְ֝רָ֗שׁ לֹא־שָׁמַ֥ע גְּעָרָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 13:8
- Proverbs 6:35He will not be appeased by anything or be persuaded by lavish bribes.
- Exodus 21:30If instead a ransom is demanded of him, he can pay a redemption price for his life in the full amount demanded from him.
- Job 2:4“Skin for skin!” Satan answered the Lord. “A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life.
- Psalms 49:6They trust in their wealth and boast of their abundant riches.
- Jeremiah 41:8However, there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us, for we have hidden treasure in the field — wheat, barley, oil, and honey!” So he stopped and did not kill them along with their companions.
- Matthew 16:26For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?
- 1 Peter 1:18For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold,
- 2 Kings 24:14He deported all Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the best soldiers — ten thousand captives including all the craftsmen and metalsmiths. Except for the poorest people of the land, no one remained.
- 2 Kings 25:12But the captain of the guards left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.
- Jeremiah 39:10However, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and he gave them vineyards and fields at that time.
- Zephaniah 3:12I will leave a meek and humble people among you, and they will take refuge 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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