Texts in Conversation
Proverbs 18 says that the poor must beg and plead while the rich answer harshly. Sirach expands on that observation to describe how wealth decides whose words get heard and whose get ignored.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Proverbs 18:23
Hebrew Bible
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love its use will eat its fruit. 22 The one who has found a wife has found what goodness is and obtained a delightful gift from the Lord. 23 A poor person makes supplications, but a rich man answers harshly. 24 There are companions who harm one another, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Sirach 13:3
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
1 Whoever touches pitch gets dirty, and whoever associates with a proud person becomes like him. 2 Do not lift a weight too heavy for you, or associate with one mightier and richer than you. How can the clay pot associate with the iron kettle? The pot will strike against it and be smashed. 3 A rich person does wrong, and even adds insults; a poor person suffers wrong, and must add apologies. 4 A rich person will exploit you if you can be of use to him, but if you are in need he will abandon you.
Search:
Notes and References
... By itself, the proverb is a sad or sour remark on the way the rich treat the poor, similar to Sirach 13:1-13. Read in the context of the book of Proverbs, it implies criticism of rich men who act thus, for these are abusing God’s own handiwork; see 14:31; 17:5; 22:2; and 10:15 (and the Comment there). Even read thus, the verse is not a social critique; the social structure as such is not being condemned. It is an ethical critique, with an implied admonition to avoid such contemptible behavior. Whybray (1990: 22) observes that the rich are not portrayed sympathetically in Proverbs 10:1-22:16 and 25:1-29:27. They have many "friends" (14:20), but they act harshly (18:23), lord it over the poor (22:7), and are convinced of their own cleverness (28:11). ...
Fox, Michael V.
Proverbs 10-31: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary
(p. 646) Yale University Press, 2009
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.