Proverbs 22:7
in Proverbs 22The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The rich ruleth over the poor; And the borrower is servant to the lender.
KJV
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
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This verse in Proverbs 22
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
The rich ruleth over the poor
on Proverbs 22:7-9
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender, states a plain economic fact rather than a complaint, debt itself a form of servitude regardless of how willingly it was entered. He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity extends the chapter's harvest imagery to wrongdoing generally, the rod of his anger, the power a wicked man wields against others, finally failing him. He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed closes the group with the opposite pattern, generosity toward the poor answered in kind rather than the exploitation verse 7 described.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"A rich man rules over the poor," etc. It is clear according to the letter; but also the rich in virtues in the judgment of the secret inspector rule over those who lack the riches of virtues, indeed they are future judges of them. And …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The rich ruleth over the poor,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The rich ruieth over the poor - So it is in the order of God, and may be a blessing to both.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עָ֭שִׁיר | ʾashir | a rich [person] | H6223 → | 23 times |
| בְּרָשִׁ֣ים | berashim | over poor [people] | H7326 → | 24 times |
| יִמְשׁ֑וֹל | yimshol | he rules | H4910 → | 81 times |
| וְעֶ֥בֶד | veeved | and [is] a servant | H5650 → | 799 times |
| לֹ֝וֶ֗ה | loveh | a borrower | H3867 → | 26 times |
| לְאִ֣ישׁ | leish | of a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מַלְוֶֽה׃ | malveh | a lender | H3867 → | 26 times |
עָ֭שִׁירa rich [person]
ʾashirH6223 →23 times
בְּרָשִׁ֣יםover poor [people]
berashimH7326 →24 times
יִמְשׁ֑וֹלhe rules
yimsholH4910 →81 times
וְעֶ֥בֶדand [is] a servant
veevedH5650 →799 times
לֹ֝וֶ֗הa borrower
lovehH3867 →26 times
לְאִ֣ישׁof a person
leishH376 →1663 times
מַלְוֶֽה׃a lender
malvehH3867 →26 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
2 Kings 4:1Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor…
it leads to
- Matthew 18:25
Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.
- 2 Kings 2:3
Then the sons of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do…
- Matthew 18:25
Through
Proverbs 14:31Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:2
The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD is Maker of them all.
- Proverbs 17:5
He who mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.
- Proverbs 22:16
Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.
- Proverbs 22:2
Through
Proverbs 22:16Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:22–23
Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,
- Proverbs 22:22–23
Through
Matthew 18:25Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 5:5
We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to…
- 2 Kings 4:1
Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor…
- Nehemiah 5:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.