Translation commentary on Proverbs 19:7

This verse is irregular in Proverbs as it has three lines and is textually difficult.

“All a poor man’s brothers hate him”: “Brothers” may be taken literally here as offspring of the same mother and father. In some languages “All . . . brothers” will include brothers and sisters. It may also have a wider sense of “all his relatives” (New International Version). “Hate”, as in 11.15, probably means “avoid” or “keep away from,” as is suggested in the second line.

“How much more do his friends go far from him!”: The opening expression “how much more” shows that this line intensifies the thought of the first. “Friends” here is singular in Hebrew but is probably to be taken as collective. “Go far from him” parallels “hate” in line 1, and supports “avoid” as the translation of “hate” there.

“He pursues them with words, but does not have them”: The Revised Standard Version footnote shows the Hebrew of this line to be uncertain. See also the Good News Translation footnote. To “pursue” is to follow after or even to chase in order to catch up with someone. However, when followed by “with words” the sense is more like “he tries to talk with them.” Bible en français courant translates “When he would like to talk with them. . ..” However, the translations of this expression vary greatly. New Revised Standard Version has revised Revised Standard Version to “When they [the poor] call after them [the friends] . . ..” See Good News Translation. The final words of this line (Revised Standard Version “but does not have them”) are in dispute among interpreters. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, which gives a “B” rating to the written Hebrew text, recommends translating “He pursues words which are nothing”; or we may say, for example, “He tries to talk with his friends, but it does not help.”

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 .

complete verse (Proverbs 19:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 19:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “If the brothers/sisters of a poor person may refuse him/her,
    how much more will his/her friends refuse (him)!” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Even affinal kin distance themselves
    from their poor relatives,
    how much more do their friends shun them.
    No matter how much they pursue them
    (no matter how hard they try)
    the poor are not able to make friends.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “If you (sing.) are poor, your (sing.) relatives do- not -pay-attention to you (sing.), and more especially your (sing.) friends. If you (sing.) need them, you (sing.) can- not -find them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The poor-person, his siblings turn-their-backs-on-(him), even-more-so his friends. If he needs help, there-is-nobody to help him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Even the relatives of someone who becomes poor hate him,
    and his friends certainly stay away from him, too;
    even if he tries to talk with them, they will not be his friends again.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 19:7

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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