14:20
Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:
20a
The poor man is hated even by his neighbor,
20b but many are those who love the rich.
This proverb implies that people in general dislike the poor. Even their own neighbors dislike them. It is also implied that the neighbors of rich people are included among their many friends.
14:20a
The poor man is hated: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hated in this context includes a range of meanings, which English versions bring out in various ways. For example:
The poor are rejected (New Century Version)
-or-
The poor are despised (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
The poor are disliked (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
No one likes the poor (Good News Translation)
even by his neighbor: The word neighbor can refer to anyone with whom a person interacts. (See the note on 11:9a.) However, in this context, the word neighbor is clearly not referring to a poor person’s friends, and the word even emphasizes a limited group of people. So the word probably refers here to a person who lives nearby, not just other people in general.
14:20b
but many are those who love the rich: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “but lovers of the rich ⌊are⌋ many.” The verb “love” provides a contrast to “hated” in 14:20a. It refers here to close friends.
Their friendship may or may not be sincere. This proverb merely describes what normally happens in human society. Rich people normally have many friends. Poor people do not have friends. Some other ways to translate this clause are:
but a rich person is loved by many (God’s Word)
-or-
but you have lots of friends if you are rich (Contemporary English Version)
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