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Wealth brings many friends,
    but the poor are left friendless.(A)

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Wealth makes many “friends”;
    poverty drives them all away.

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Many seek the favor of the generous,
    and everyone is a friend to a giver of gifts.(A)
If the poor are hated even by their kin,
    how much more are they shunned by their friends!
When they call after them, they are not there.[a](B)

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Footnotes

  1. 19.7 Meaning of Heb uncertain

Many seek favors from a ruler;
    everyone is the friend of a person who gives gifts!

The relatives of the poor despise them;
    how much more will their friends avoid them!
Though the poor plead with them,
    their friends are gone.

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The rich and the poor have this in common:
    the Lord is the maker of them all.

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The rich and poor have this in common:
    The Lord made them both.

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The rich rule over the poor,
    and the borrower is the slave of the lender.(A)

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Just as the rich rule the poor,
    so the borrower is servant to the lender.

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Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
    be wise enough to desist.(A)
When your eyes light upon it, it is gone,
    for suddenly it takes wings to itself,
    flying like an eagle toward heaven.

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Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich.
    Be wise enough to know when to quit.
In the blink of an eye wealth disappears,
    for it will sprout wings
    and fly away like an eagle.

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The sated appetite spurns honey,
    but to a ravenous appetite even the bitter is sweet.(A)

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A person who is full refuses honey,
    but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry.

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Better to be poor and walk in integrity
    than to be crooked in one’s ways even though rich.(A)

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Better to be poor and honest
    than to be dishonest and rich.

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One who augments wealth by exorbitant interest
    gathers it for another who is kind to the poor.(A)

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Income from charging high interest rates
    will end up in the pocket of someone who is kind to the poor.

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11 The rich is wise in self-esteem,
    but an intelligent poor person sees through the pose.(A)

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11 Rich people may think they are wise,
    but a poor person with discernment can see right through them.

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20 The faithful will abound with blessings,
    but one who is in a hurry to be rich will not go unpunished.(A)
21 To show partiality is not good,
    yet for a piece of bread a person may do wrong.
22 The miser is in a hurry to get rich
    and does not know that loss is sure to come.

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20 The trustworthy person will get a rich reward,
    but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble.

21 Showing partiality is never good,
    yet some will do wrong for a mere piece of bread.

22 Greedy people try to get rich quick
    but don’t realize they’re headed for poverty.

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