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Many curry favor with a noble;
    everybody is a friend of a gift giver.
All the kin of the poor despise them;
    how much more do their friends shun them![a]

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Footnotes

  1. 19:7 Closely related to vv. 4 and 6. An observation, not without sympathy, on the social isolation of poor people.

Many seek the favor of the generous,
    and everyone is a friend to a giver of gifts.
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]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:7 Meaning of Heb uncertain

Everyone tries to gain the favor of important people; everyone claims the friendship of those who give out favors.

Even the relatives of a poor person have no use for him; no wonder he has no friends. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot win any.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:7 Probable text No matter … any; Hebrew unclear.

(A)Many will seek the favor of a [a]generous person,
And every person is a friend to (B)him who gives gifts.
All the brothers of a poor person hate him;
How much more do his (C)friends abandon him!
He (D)pursues them with words, but they are [b]gone.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:6 Or noble
  2. Proverbs 19:7 Lit not

Many curry favor with a ruler,(A)
    and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.(B)

The poor are shunned by all their relatives—
    how much more do their friends avoid them!(C)
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
    they are nowhere to be found.[a](D)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.