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Proverbs 29:13 meaning

The poor man and his oppressor share the LORD as the giver of light to their eyes.

What the oppressor and the poor man share is revealed in Proverbs 29:13: The poor man and the oppressor have this in common, the LORD gives light to the eyes of both (v. 13). The shared fact constrains them both.

The phrase the poor man and the oppressor have this in common invites the reader to imagine these two together. They live in different worlds: one in scarcity, the other in power. They appear to share little.

What they share is their status as creatures: The LORD gives light to the eyes of both. Both rise to morning light, given by the same Creator. Both depend on the same God for the basic gift of sight, life, and breath. The verse echoes the earlier observation that the LORD made them all (Proverbs 22:2). The shared fact constrains both: the oppressor cannot finally treat the poor man as a different category of being. They both stand before the same Creator.