¹⁵ The wealth of the rich is their powerful fortress;
    the poverty of the poor reduces them to rubble.

²⁴ One shares liberally and yet gains even more,
    while another hoards more than is right and still has need.
²⁵ A giving person will receive much in return,
    and someone who gives water will also receive the water he needs.

²³ Though the fields of the poor yield a bumper crop
    in a land without justice, it is stolen out from under them.

²⁵ The Eternal splinters the house of the haughty,
    but He secures the property of widows.

⁵ Anyone who makes fun of the poor disparages his Maker,
    and those who celebrate another’s misfortune will not escape certain punishment.

⁴ Wealth attracts many friends,
    but the poor are soon separated from theirs.

⁷ If a poor man is hated by his relatives,
    it is even more likely his friends will avoid him too!
Anyone who is calling after them
    [is not to be found].^[a]

¹⁷ Whoever cares for the poor makes a loan to the Eternal;
    such kindness will be repaid in full and with interest.

¹³ If you ignore the groans of the poor,
    one day your own cries for help will go unanswered.