Proverbs 19:7
New International Version
The poor are shunned by all their relatives— how much more do their friends avoid them! Though the poor pursue them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found.

New Living Translation
The relatives of the poor despise them; how much more will their friends avoid them! Though the poor plead with them, their friends are gone.

English Standard Version
All a poor man’s brothers hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him! He pursues them with words, but does not have them.

Berean Standard Bible
All 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.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
All the brothers of the poor hate him; How much more do his friends go far from him! He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him.

New American Standard Bible
All the brothers of a poor person hate him; How much more do his friends abandon him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone.

NASB 1995
All the brothers of a poor man hate him; How much more do his friends abandon him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone.

NASB 1977
All the brothers of a poor man hate him; How much more do his friends go far from him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone.

Legacy Standard Bible
All the brothers of a poor man hate him; How much more do his friends distance themselves from him! He pursues them with words, but they are no more.

Amplified Bible
All the brothers of a poor man hate him; How much more do his friends abandon him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone.

Christian Standard Bible
All the brothers of a poor person hate him; how much more do his friends keep their distance from him! He may pursue them with words, but they are not there.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
All the brothers of a poor man hate him; how much more do his friends keep their distance from him! He may pursue them with words, but they are not there.

American Standard Version
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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
All the brethren of the poor man hate him and his friends are far removed from him; he that is malicious in his words is not trustworthy.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Every one who hates his poor brother shall also be far from friendship. Good understanding will draw near to them that know it, and a sensible man will find it. He that does much harm perfects mischief; and he that used provoking words shall not escape.

Contemporary English Version
If you are poor, your own relatives reject you, and your friends are worse. When you really need them, they are not there.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The brethren of the poor man hate him: moreover also his friends have departed far from him. He that followeth after words only, shall have nothing.

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The entire family of a poor person hates him. How much more do his friends keep their distance from him! When he chases them with words, they are gone.

Good News Translation
Even the relatives of a poor person have no use for him; no wonder he has no friends. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot win any.

International Standard Version
All the relatives of a poor person shun him— how much more do his friends avoid him! Though he runs after them pleading, they aren't around.

JPS Tanakh 1917
All the brethren of the poor do hate him; How much more do his friends go far from him! He that pursueth words, they turn against him.

Literal Standard Version
All the brothers of the poor have hated him, | Surely his friends have also been far from him, | He is pursuing words—they are not!

Majority Standard Bible
All 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.

New American Bible
All the kin of the poor despise them; how much more do their friends shun them!

NET Bible
All the relatives of a poor person hate him; how much more do his friends avoid him--he pursues them with words, but they do not respond.

New Revised Standard Version
If the poor are hated even by their kin, how much more are they shunned by their friends! When they call after them, they are not there.

New Heart English Bible
All the relatives of the poor shun him: how much more do his friends avoid him. He pursues them with pleas, but they are gone.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
All the relatives of the poor shun him; how much more do his friends avoid him! He pursues them with pleas, but they are gone.

Young's Literal Translation
All the brethren of the poor have hated him, Surely also his friends have been far from him, He is pursuing words -- they are not!

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Man of Integrity
6Many seek the favor of the prince, and everyone is a friend of the gift giver. 7All 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. 8He who acquires wisdom loves himself; one who safeguards understanding will find success.…

Cross References
Psalm 38:11
My beloved and friends shun my disease, and my kinsmen stand at a distance.

Proverbs 10:15
The wealth of the rich man is his fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.

Proverbs 14:20
The poor man is hated even by his neighbor, but many are those who love the rich.

Proverbs 18:23
The poor man pleads for mercy, but the rich man answers harshly.


Treasury of Scripture

All the brothers of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursues them with words, yet they are wanting to him.

the brethren

Proverbs 19:4
Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour.

Proverbs 14:20
The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.

Psalm 38:11
My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

he

Proverbs 21:13
Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

Luke 18:38-40
And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me…

yet

Proverbs 18:23
The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.

James 2:15,16
If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, …

1 John 3:17,18
But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? …

Jump to Previous
Abandon Avoid Far Friends Hate Hated Nowhere Pleading Pleas Poor Pursues Pursueth Pursuing Relatives Shun Surely Turn Wanting Words
Jump to Next
Abandon Avoid Far Friends Hate Hated Nowhere Pleading Pleas Poor Pursues Pursueth Pursuing Relatives Shun Surely Turn Wanting Words
Proverbs 19
1. Life and Conduct














(7) He pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to Him.--The first half of a verse has apparently dropped out here. The sense may be, that the poor man hunts after words--i.e., seeks to get promises of help from his friends, and these end in nothing--mere talk.

Verse 7. - This is one of the few tristichs in the book, and probably contains the mutilated remains of two distichs. The third line, corrected by the Septuagint, which has an addition here, runs into two clauses (Cheyne). All the brethren of the poor do hate him. Even his own brothers, children of the same parents, hate and shun a poor man (Proverbs 14:20). Much more do his friends go far from him. There should be no interrogation. We have the expression (aph-ki) in Proverbs 11:31; Proverbs 15:11, etc. Euripides, 'Medea,' 561 -

Πένητα φεύγει πᾶς τις ἐκποδὼν φίλος

"Each single friend far from the poor man flies." Septuagint. "Every one who hateth a poor brother will be also far from friendship." Then follows an addition not found m the Hebrew, "Good thought draweth nigh to those who know it, and a prudent man will find it. He who doeth much evil brings malice to perfection (τελεσιουργεῖ κακίαν); and he who rouses words to anger shall not be safe." He pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him; or, they are gone. He makes a pathetic appeal to his quondam friends, but they hearken not to him. But the sense is rather, "He pursueth after, craves for, words of kindness or promises of help, and there is naught, or he gets words only and no material aid." Wordsworth quotes Catullus, 'Carm.,' 38:5 -

"Quem tu, quod minimum facillimumque est,
Qua solatus es adlocutione?
Irascor tibi. Sic meos amores?"
Vulgate, Qui tantum verba sectatur, nihil habebit, "He who pursues words only shall have naught." The Hebrew is literally, "Seeking words, they are not" This is according to the Khetib; the Keri, instead of the negation לא, reads לו, which makes the clause signify, "He who pursues words, they are to him;" i.e. he gets words and nothing else. Delitzsch and others, supplying the lost member from the Septuagint, read the third line thus: "He that hath many friends, or the friend of every one, is requited with evil; and he that seeketh (fair) speeches shall not be delivered." Cheyne also makes a distich of this line, taking the Septuagint as representing the original reading, "He that does much evil perfects mischief: He that provokes with words shall not escape." That something has fallen out of the Hebrew text is evident; it seems that there are no examples of tristichs in this part of our book, though they are not unknown in the first and third divisions. The Vulgate surmounts the difficulty by connecting this third line with the following verse, which thus is made to form the antithesis, Qui tantum verba sectatur, nihil habebit; Qui autem possessor est mentis, diligit animam suam, et custos prudentiae inveniet bona."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
All
כָּ֥ל (kāl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the brothers
אֲחֵי־ (’ă·ḥê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 251: A brother, )

of a poor man
רָ֨שׁ ׀ (rāš)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7326: To be in want or poor

hate him—
שְֽׂנֵאֻ֗הוּ (śə·nê·’u·hū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural | third person masculine singular
Strong's 8130: To hate

how much more
אַ֤ף (’ap̄)
Conjunction
Strong's 637: Meaning accession, yea, adversatively though

do his friends
מְ֭רֵעֵהוּ (mə·rê·‘ê·hū)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 4828: Friend, companion

avoid
רָחֲק֣וּ (rā·ḥă·qū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 7368: To be or become far or distant

him!
מִמֶּ֑נּוּ (mim·men·nū)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

He may pursue
מְרַדֵּ֖ף (mə·rad·dêp̄)
Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7291: To pursue, chase, persecute

them with pleading,
אֲמָרִ֣ים (’ă·mā·rîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 561: Something said

but they
הֵֽמָּה׃ (hêm·māh)
Pronoun - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1992: They

are nowhere to be found.
לוֹ־ (lōw-)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3808: Not, no


Links
Proverbs 19:7 NIV
Proverbs 19:7 NLT
Proverbs 19:7 ESV
Proverbs 19:7 NASB
Proverbs 19:7 KJV

Proverbs 19:7 BibleApps.com
Proverbs 19:7 Biblia Paralela
Proverbs 19:7 Chinese Bible
Proverbs 19:7 French Bible
Proverbs 19:7 Catholic Bible

OT Poetry: Proverbs 19:7 All the relatives of the poor shun (Prov. Pro Pr)
Proverbs 19:6
Top of Page
Top of Page