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15 The wealth of the rich is the city of his strength;
    the ruin of the poor is their poverty.

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15 The wealth of the rich is their fortress;
    the poverty of the poor is their destruction.

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24 There is one who gives yet grows richer,[a]
    but he who withholds what is right[b] only finds need.
25 A person of blessing will be enriched,
    and he who gives water also will be refreshed.
26 He who withholds grain, the people curse him,
    but a blessing is for the head of him who sells.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 11:24 Literally “adding more”
  2. Proverbs 11:24 Literally “from what is right”

24 Give freely and become more wealthy;
    be stingy and lose everything.

25 The generous will prosper;
    those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

26 People curse those who hoard their grain,
    but they bless the one who sells in time of need.

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23 There is much food in the field of the poor,
    but it is swept away[a] by injustice.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:23 Literally “there is sweeping away”
  2. Proverbs 13:23 Literally “no justice”

23 A poor person’s farm may produce much food,
    but injustice sweeps it all away.

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25 The house of the proud, Yahweh will tear it down,
    but he will maintain the property line[a] of the widow.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:25 Literally “boundary”

25 The Lord tears down the house of the proud,
    but he protects the property of widows.

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He who mocks the poor insults him who made him;
    he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

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Those who mock the poor insult their Maker;
    those who rejoice at the misfortune of others will be punished.

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Wealth adds many friends,
    but the poor will be left by his friends.

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

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All the brothers of the poor, if they hate him,
    how much more will his friends keep away from him.
    He pursues them with words, and they are gone.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:7 Or “when he pursues words and not them”

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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17 He who lends to Yahweh is he who is kind to the poor,
    and his benefits he will repay to him.

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17 If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord
    and he will repay you!

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13 He who closes his ear from the cry of the poor,
    he also will cry out and not be heard.

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13 Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor
    will be ignored in their own time of need.

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He who is generous[a] will be blessed,
    for he gives to the poor from his own bread.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 22:9 Literally “the generous of eye”

Blessed are those who are generous,
    because they feed the poor.

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16 He who oppresses the poor in order to enrich himself,
    or gives to the rich, will come to poverty.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 22:16 Literally “only loss”

16 A person who gets ahead by oppressing the poor
    or by showering gifts on the rich will end in poverty.

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22 Do not rob the poor because he is poor,
    and do not crush the afflicted at the gate;
23 For Yahweh will plead their case
    and despoil those who despoil them of life.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 22:23 Or “soul,” or “inner self”

22 Don’t rob the poor just because you can,
    or exploit the needy in court.
23 For the Lord is their defender.
    He will ruin anyone who ruins them.

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