Bible Strands
Proverbs 18:23
The poor man pleads for mercy, but the rich man answers harshly.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author of Proverbs addresses a student or general reader within a wisdom collection, situating this observation between remarks on marriage and friendship.
The words — The text highlights רָשׁ (Rash) as the poor person pleading and עַזּֽוֹת (a.Zot) as the strong words characterizing the wealthy respondent.
The thread — This pattern of wealthy dismissal and humble pleading recurs in Exodus 5:2 where Pharaoh rejects a plea, and James 2:3 where favoritism toward the affluent mirrors the same social distortion.
Why it lands — The passage records the poor man’s plea and the rich man’s harsh reply as a factual observation. It asks the reader to recognize how economic power corrupts justice and to avoid adopting that dismissive posture.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.
Cross-references
- James 2:3 If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,”
- Exodus 5:2 But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
- James 1:9 The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.
- James 2:6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
- 1 Samuel 25:17 Now consider carefully what you must do, because disaster looms over our master and all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that nobody can speak to him!”
- 2 Kings 4:1 Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!”
- Isaiah 66:2 Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.
- Genesis 42:7 And when Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them as strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where have you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We are here to buy food.”
- Genesis 42:30 “The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.
- Ruth 2:7 She has said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the harvesters.’ So she came out and has continued from morning until now, except that she rested a short time in the shelter.”