English Standard Version
Proverbs 18:23
23The poor use entreaties, but the rich answer roughly.
Proverbs 18:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.
- New International Version (NIV)The poor plead for mercy, but the rich answer harshly.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The poor man uses entreaties, But the rich answers roughly.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The poor plead for mercy; the rich answer with insults.
Context of Proverbs 18:23
21Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. 22He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. The poor use entreaties, but the rich answer roughly. 24A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Read all of Proverbs 18Proverbs 18:23 word by word
תַּחֲנוּנִ֥ים יְדַבֶּר־רָ֑שׁ וְ֝עָשִׁ֗יר יַעֲנֶ֥ה עַזּֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 18:23
- Ruth 2:7She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest."
- 1 Samuel 2:36And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, "Please put me in one of the priests' places, that I may eat a morsel of bread."'"
- 2 Kings 4:1Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves."
- Isaiah 66:2All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
- Matthew 5:3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- James 1:9Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,
- Genesis 42:7Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. "Where do you come from?" he said. They said, "From the land of Canaan, to buy food."
- Exodus 5:2But Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go."
- 1 Samuel 25:10And Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters.
- James 2:3and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet,"
Commentaries on Proverbs 18:23
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23Note the paradox. The poor man, of whom one might expect roughness, supplicates; the rich, well nurtured, from whom one might look for courtesy, answers harshly and brusquely.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23Verse 23 Poverty tells men they must not order or demand. And at the throne of God's grace we are all poor, and must use entreaties.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23God will punish the powerful who look down on the poor. Wise people help those in need (Proverbs 11:24; 28:27; 29:7, 14).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. the rich ... roughly--He is tolerated because rich, implying that the estimate of men by wealth is wrong.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 18:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 18
- 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries