¹⁵ The wealth of the rich is his fortified city;^(A)
the poverty of the poor is their destruction.

²⁰ A poor person is hated even by his neighbor,^(A)
but there are many who love the rich.^(B)

²³ The poor person pleads,^(A)
but the rich one answers roughly.^(B)

19 Better a poor person who lives with integrity^(A)
than someone who has deceitful lips and is a fool.

⁴ Wealth attracts many friends,^(A)
but a poor person is separated from his friend.

⁷ All the brothers of a poor person hate him;^(A)
how much more do his friends
keep their distance from him!
He may pursue them with words,^(B)
but they are not there.^[a]

¹⁷ Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord,^(A)
and he will give a reward to the lender.^[a](B)

²² What is desirable in a person is his fidelity;
better to be a poor person than a liar.^(A)

¹³ The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
will himself also call out and not be answered.^(A)

² Rich and poor have this in common:^[a]
the Lord makes them all.^(A)