Proverbs 22:2
in Proverbs 22The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD is Maker of them all.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The rich and the poor meet together: Jehovah is the maker of them all.
KJV
The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all.
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This verse in Proverbs 22
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThe rich and the poor meet together, etc. Do not despise the rich because of their wealth and honors, nor the poor because of their poverty, but revere in each the merit that is the work of God, for they are made in the image …
This site's exposition
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches
on Proverbs 22:1-2
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches opens the chapter valuing reputation earned by character over inherited or acquired wealth, and loving favour rather than silver and gold repeats the point from the other direction. The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all levels the two classes at their root, Henry reading it as a check on both envy from below and contempt from above, the distinction between rich and poor providence's arrangement rather than a difference in what each is worth before God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
Both of you are traveling the same road; you are companions on the journey. Lightly laden are the poor man's shoulders, but yours are burdened with heavy luggage. Give away some of the load that is weighing you down; give away some of your luggage to the needy man—and you will thus afford relief both to yourself and to your companion. The Scripture says, "The rich and the poor have met one another, but the Lord has made them both." Where have they met, except in this life? The one is now arrayed in costly garments, while the other is clad in rags. When did they meet? Both were born naked, and even the rich man was born poor. Let him disregard what he found when he had come; let him consider what he brought with him.
I beseech you, beloved brethren, be eager to engage in divine reading whatever hours you can. Moreover, since what a person procures in this life by reading or good works will be the food of his soul forever, let no one try to excuse himself …
"The poor man and the rich have met each other." Where have they met each other? In this life. This one was born, that one was born, their lives were crossed, they have met each other. And who made them? The Lord. The rich man, to help the poor; the poor man, to test the rich.
The rich and the poor meet together. In what way, except in this present life? The rich and the poor are born alike. You meet one another as you walk along the way together. The poor must not defraud the rich; the rich must not oppress the poor. The one has need, the other has plenty, but "the Lord is the maker of them both." The Lord helps the one in need by the one who has; by the one who has not the Lord tests the one who has.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The rich and poor meet together,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The rich and poor meet together - עשיר ashir the opulent, whether in money, land, or property; רש rash, the man that is destitute of these, and lives by his labor, whether a handicraftsman, or one that tills the ground. In the order of God, the rich and the poor live together, and are mutually helpful to each other.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Compare the margin reference. Another recognition of the oneness of a common humanity, overriding all distinctions of rank.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עָשִׁ֣יר | ʾashir | [the] rich | H6223 → | 23 times |
| וָרָ֣שׁ | varash | and [the] poor | H7326 → | 24 times |
| נִפְגָּ֑שׁוּ | nifgashu | they meet together | H6298 → | 14 times |
| עֹשֵׂ֖ה | ʾoseh | [is the] maker of | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כֻלָּ֣ם | khulam | all of them | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
עָשִׁ֣יר[the] rich
ʾashirH6223 →23 times
וָרָ֣שׁand [the] poor
varashH7326 →24 times
נִפְגָּ֑שׁוּthey meet together
nifgashuH6298 →14 times
עֹשֵׂ֖ה[is the] maker of
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
כֻלָּ֣םall of them
khulamH3605 →5413 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 2:7The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.
it leads to
- Psalms 75:7
but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another.
- Job 5:11
He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.
- Deuteronomy 8:17–18
You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”
- James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
- Job 1:21
saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
- Psalms 75:7
Through
Job 34:19who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:17
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.
- Deuteronomy 10:17
Through
Proverbs 14:31Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:16
Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.
- Proverbs 22:16
Through
Proverbs 29:13The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives light to the eyes of both.
it leads to
- Matthew 5:45
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
- Matthew 5:45
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Proverbs
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 11:6; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 39:6; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 85.7; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 8:1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.