Poverty can bring painful social isolation, even from people who once seemed close.
Proverbs 19:7 intensifies the loneliness of poverty: 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 (v. 7). The verse is not approving this condition, but lamenting how severe it can be.
If even a poor man’sbrothers withdraw, how much more his looser friendships may disappear. Need can expose the shallowness of many human attachments. Hardship often reveals who truly loves and who simply remained nearby while circumstances were convenient.
The final line is especially sad: He pursues them with words, but they are gone. The poor man may try to repair, appeal, or reconnect, but the distance remains. Solomon here names a painful social cruelty so the wise may see it clearly and resist becoming part of it.
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Proverbs 19:7 meaning
Proverbs 19:7 intensifies the loneliness of poverty: 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 (v. 7). The verse is not approving this condition, but lamenting how severe it can be.
If even a poor man’s brothers withdraw, how much more his looser friendships may disappear. Need can expose the shallowness of many human attachments. Hardship often reveals who truly loves and who simply remained nearby while circumstances were convenient.
The final line is especially sad: He pursues them with words, but they are gone. The poor man may try to repair, appeal, or reconnect, but the distance remains. Solomon here names a painful social cruelty so the wise may see it clearly and resist becoming part of it.