Mocking the poor insults their Creator, and delighting in another’s calamity will not escape judgment.
Proverbs 17:5 ties our treatment of people directly to our attitude toward God: He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker; he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished (v. 5). The poor are not outside God’s concern. To scorn them is to insult the One who made them.
To mock the poor is to turn vulnerability into an object of contempt. Solomon says this taunts his Maker because every human being bears the dignity of being made by God. Cruelty toward the weak is therefore not merely social sin; it is theological rebellion.
The second line extends the warning. He who rejoices at calamity shows a heart corrupted by malice. Instead of mercy, he delights in another’s downfall. Solomon insists such a person will not go unpunished. God opposes the spirit that feeds on the misery of others.
Proverbs 17:5
5 He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker;
He who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.
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Proverbs 17:5 meaning
Proverbs 17:5 ties our treatment of people directly to our attitude toward God: He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker; he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished (v. 5). The poor are not outside God’s concern. To scorn them is to insult the One who made them.
To mock the poor is to turn vulnerability into an object of contempt. Solomon says this taunts his Maker because every human being bears the dignity of being made by God. Cruelty toward the weak is therefore not merely social sin; it is theological rebellion.
The second line extends the warning. He who rejoices at calamity shows a heart corrupted by malice. Instead of mercy, he delights in another’s downfall. Solomon insists such a person will not go unpunished. God opposes the spirit that feeds on the misery of others.