complete verse (Proverbs 19:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 19:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “Wealth/riches brings many friends,
    but people run away from a poor person.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Money causes one to have many friends,
    If one has no money
    even the friends that he has disappear.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A rich has many friends, but a poor is-deserted by his friends.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “By-means-of wealth friends increase-in-number, but the poor-person, even his few friends turn-their-backs-on him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Those who are rich easily find people who want to be their friends,
    but when people become poor, their friends often desert them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Proverbs 19:4

This saying comments on the practice of society and the effect of wealth or money on social relations.

“Wealth brings many new friends”: This line is similar to 14.20b. “Wealth” or “riches” may not serve as the subject of the action in some languages. Therefore, it may be necessary to say, for example, “When a person is rich he gets many new friends” or “Rich people are always getting new friends.” “New” is supplied by Revised Standard Version because these people become friends due to their desire to share his wealth. In some languages the word “friend” or “companion” is not adequate in this context and it is necessary to say, for example, “many new followers,” “many hangers-on,” or “many associates.”

“But a poor man is deserted by his friend”: “Deserted by” renders a verb meaning “separates himself from.” This line may also be translated “The poor person is separated from his friend.” Either way the sense is that the poor person loses his friend (same word as in line 1) and the rich get lots of friends.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 19:4

19:4

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

4a
Wealth attracts many friends,

4b but a poor man is deserted by his friend.

This proverb contrasts the different effects of wealth and poverty on friendship. Many people will become friends of a rich person because of his wealth. By contrast, even one friend of a poor person will desert him because of his poverty.

19:4a

Wealth attracts many friends: Some other ways to translate this clause are:

Wealth multiplies friends (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Rich people are always finding new friends (Good News Translation)
-or-
The rich have many friends (Contemporary English Version)

19:4b

but a poor man is deserted by his friend: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is deserted is literally “separates himself from.” This clause means that the friend of a poor man will avoid associating with him and will stop being his friend. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

but the poor are left friendless (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
but the poor lose all theirs (New Century Version)
-or-
but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them (New International Version (2011))

© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.