Bible Strands
Proverbs 28:3
A destitute leader who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no food.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The wisdom teacher addresses a community experiencing political instability, contrasting chaotic governance with the stability that comes from understanding and knowledge.
The words — עֹשֵׁק ('o.Shek) means "oppresses," and סֹחֵף (so.Chef) literally means "washes away" or "dries up," describing how the leader's actions destroy sustenance.
The thread — Matthew 18:28 depicts a servant who seizes a fellow debtor for a small sum, illustrating the same abuse of power over vulnerable peers.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that corrupt leadership actively destroys community survival, requiring readers to evaluate authority by its tangible impact on the vulnerable.
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
A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
Cross-references
- Matthew 18:28 But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’