19:7

The first two lines are similar in meaning. The third line describes a situation that results from the first two lines.

7a
All the brothers of a poor man hate him —

7b how much more do his friends avoid him!

7c He may pursue them with pleading, but they are nowhere to be found.

The first two lines are an example of lesser to greater reasoning. See 11:31 for a list of other verses in Proverbs that have this kind of reasoning.

19:7a–b

All the brothers of a poor man hate him—how much more do his friends avoid him!: The situation in these two lines goes from bad to worse. It is assumed that a person’s own brothers would have an obligation as family members to help him. If even his own relatives despise and reject him, it will be worse with his friends. Mere friends will be even more likely to avoid him.

Some other ways to express the relationship between these two lines are:

If the poor are hated even by their kin, how much more are they shunned by their friends! (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Even the relatives of a poor person have no use for him; no wonder he has no friends. (Good News Translation)

19:7a

All the brothers of a poor man: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as brothers may refer specifically to the siblings of the poor person. It may also refer more generally to other blood relatives.

hate him: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hate includes the meanings “shunned,” “despised,” and “rejected.” You should choose a term that is culturally appropriate for the situation described in this verse.

Some other ways to translate 19:7a are:

All the poor man’s brothers hate him (New American Bible)
-or-
All the brothers of a poor man despise him (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
-or-
If you are poor, your own relatives reject you (Contemporary English Version)

19:7b

how much more do his friends avoid him!: The word friends is singular in Hebrew. But it probably refers to the poor person’s friends or companions as a group.

avoid him: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as avoid is literally “become distant” or “distance themselves.” Some other ways to translate this word are:

desert him (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
shun him (New American Bible)
-or-
abandon him (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
go far from him (English Standard Version)

19:7c

He may pursue them with pleading, but they are nowhere to be found:
Verse 19:7c is a single clause in Hebrew. It is literally “one who pursues words, not they.” It indicates that when the poor man persists in asking his friends and relatives for help, they do not respond. It is as if they are not even there.

He may pursue them with pleading: This phrase has a figurative meaning. It means that the poor person pleads persistently for help. It does not mean that he literally chases his friends or relatives.

Some other ways to translate 19:7c are:

he pursues them with words, but they do not respond (NET Bible)
-or-
When he pleads for their help, they act as if they are not there.

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