Proverbs 19:7
in Proverbs 19All the brothers of a poor man hate him—how much more do his friends avoid him! He may pursue them with pleading, but they are nowhere to be found.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
All the brethren of the poor do hate him: How much more do his friends go far from him! He pursueth them with words, but they are gone.
KJV
All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
It seems best to follow the Vulgate in taking the last clause as a separate maxim, He who pursues words, nought are they; i. e., the fair speeches and promises of help come to nothing. A various reading in the Hebrew gives, “he pursues after words, and these he shall have” - i. e., these, and nothing else. This and other like maxims do not in reality cast scorn and shame on a state which Christ has pronounced “blessed.” Side by side with them is Pro 19:1, setting forth the honor of an upright poverty.
This site's exposition
Wealth attracts many friends
on Proverbs 19:4-9
Wealth attracts many friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend, a social fact the book states without approving it. A false witness receives the same sentence at verses 5 and 9, first that he "will not go unpunished" and then that he "will perish."
This site's exposition
He may pursue them with pleading
Albert Barnes reads the last line as a maxim of its own, the poor man pursuing words and promises of help that come to nothing. He sets the verse beside verse 1, which honors the poor man who walks with integrity. His brothers hate him and his friends avoid him.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Delight does not befit a fool, etc. Delight in the Scriptures does not befit a heretic, because he does not know how to use them well; nor does it befit him who is still proven to be a servant of sin to be preferred to …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
All the brethren of the poor do hate him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Do hate him - They shun him as they do the person they hate. They neither hate him positively, nor love him: they disregard him; they will have nothing to do with him. שנא sana signifies not only to hate, but to show a less degree of love to one than another. So Jacob loved Rachel, but hated Leah - showed her less affection than he did to Rachel.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כָּ֥ל | kal | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲחֵי־ | ʾachei- | [the] brothers of | H251 → | 630 times |
| רָ֨שׁ׀ | rash | a poor [person] | H7326 → | 24 times |
| שְֽׂנֵאֻ֗הוּ | seneuhu | they hate him | H8130 → | 146 times |
| אַ֤ף | ʾaf | indeed? | H637 → | 134 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מְ֭רֵעֵהוּ | mereehu | friend[s] his | H4828 → | |
| רָחֲק֣וּ | rachaku | they are distant | H7368 → | 57 times |
| מִמֶּ֑נּוּ | mimenu | from him | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| מְרַדֵּ֖ף | meradef | [one who] pursues | H7291 → | 143 times |
| אֲמָרִ֣ים | ʾamarim | words | H561 → | 49 times |
| לוֹ | lo- | to him | ||
| הֵֽמָּה׃ | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
כָּ֥לall
kalH3605 →5413 times
אֲחֵי־[the] brothers of
ʾachei-H251 →630 times
רָ֨שׁ׀a poor [person]
rashH7326 →24 times
שְֽׂנֵאֻ֗הוּthey hate him
seneuhuH8130 →146 times
אַ֤ףindeed?
ʾafH637 →134 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
מְ֭רֵעֵהוּfriend[s] his
mereehuH4828 →
רָחֲק֣וּthey are distant
rachakuH7368 →57 times
מִמֶּ֑נּוּfrom him
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
מְרַדֵּ֖ף[one who] pursues
meradefH7291 →143 times
אֲמָרִ֣יםwords
ʾamarimH561 →49 times
לוֹto him
lo-
הֵֽמָּה׃they
hemahH1992 →553 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
Psalms 38:11My beloved and friends shun my disease, and my kinsmen stand at a distance.
it leads to
- Psalms 31:11
Among all my enemies I am a disgrace, and among my neighbors even more. I am dreaded by my friends— they flee when they see me on the street.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 23:49
But all those who knew Jesus, including the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things.
- Job 19:13–17
He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me.
- Luke 22:54
Then they seized Jesus, led Him away, and took Him into the house of the high priest. And Peter followed at a distance.
- John 16:32
“Look, an hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father…
- Psalms 31:11
Through
Proverbs 18:23The poor man pleads for mercy, but the rich man answers harshly.
it leads to
- James 2:3
If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,”
- James 1:9–11
The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.
- James 2:3
Through
Psalms 88:8You have removed my friends from me; You have made me repulsive to them; I am confined and cannot escape.
it leads to
- Job 30:10
They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
- Job 30:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).