New English Translation
Proverbs 13:8
8The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth, but the 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 the one who lives with integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner. 7There is one who pretends to be rich and yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor and yet possesses great wealth. The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth, but the poor person hears no threat. 9The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked goes out. 10With pride comes only contention, 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
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 13:8
- Proverbs 6:35He will not consider any compensation; he will not be willing, even if you multiply the compensation.
- Exodus 21:30If a ransom is set for him, then he must pay the redemption for his life according to whatever amount was set for him.
- Job 2:4But Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! Indeed, a man will give up all that he has to save his life!
- Psalms 49:6They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
- Jeremiah 41:8But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us. For we will give you the stores of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey we have hidden in a field. So he spared their lives and did not kill them along with the rest.
- Matthew 16:26For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?
- 1 Peter 1:18You know that from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors you were ransomed – not by perishable things like silver or gold,
- 2 Kings 24:14He deported all the residents of Jerusalem, including all the officials and all the soldiers (10,000 people in all). This included all the craftsmen and those who worked with metal. No one was left except for the poorest among the people of the land.
- 2 Kings 25:12But he left behind some of the poor of the land and gave them fields and vineyards.
- Jeremiah 39:10But he left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing. He gave them fields and vineyards at that time.
- Zephaniah 3:12I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence.
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
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