¹⁵ The ^(A)rich person’s wealth is his ^[a]fortress,
The ^(B)ruin of the poor is their poverty.

²⁴ There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more,
And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in poverty.
²⁵ A ^[a](A)generous person will be ^[b]prosperous,
And one who ^(B)gives others plenty of water will himself be given plenty.
²⁶ One who withholds grain, the ^(C)people will curse him,
But ^(D)blessing will be on the head of him who ^(E)sells it.

^23 (A)Abundant food is in the uncultivated ground of the poor,
But ^[a]it is swept away by injustice.

²⁵ The Lord will ^(A)tear down the house of the proud,
But He will ^(B)set the boundary of the ^(C)widow.

⁵ One who mocks the ^(A)poor taunts his Maker;
One who ^(B)rejoices at disaster will not go unpunished.

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

⁷ All the brothers of a poor person hate him;
How much more do his ^(A)friends abandon him!
He ^(B)pursues them with words, but they are ^[a]gone.

¹⁷ One who ^(A)is gracious to a poor person lends to the Lord,
And He will repay him for his ^[a](B)good deed.

¹³ One who ^(A)shuts his ear to the outcry of the poor
Will also call out himself, and not be ^(B)answered.