Proverbs 17:5

Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
mocketh	לֹעֵ֣ג lo.'Eg	H3932	to deride · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
poor	לָ֭רָשׁ La.rosh	H7326	to be destitute · preposition with the article + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
reproacheth	חֵרֵ֣ף che.Ref	H2778	to pull off · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Maker	עֹשֵׂ֑הוּ 'o.Se.hu	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
glad	שָׂמֵ֥חַ sa.Me.ach	H8056	blithe or gleeful · adjective, masculine singular absolute
calamities	לְ֝אֵ֗יד le.'Eid	H343	oppression · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
unpunished	יִנָּקֶֽה yi.na.Keh	H5352	to be (or make) clean (literally or figuratively) · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Proverbs 14:31 He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
Job 31:29 If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him:
Obadiah 1:11-13 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into…
1 John 3:17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love…
Proverbs 14:21 He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.
Proverbs 16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
Proverbs 24:17-18 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
Romans 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 17:5

See here, 1. What a great sin those are guilty of who trample upon the poor, who ridicule their wants and the meanness of their appearance, upbraid them with their poverty, and take advantage from their weakness to be abusive and injurious to them. They reproach their Maker, put a great contempt and affront upon him, who allotted the poor to the condition they are in, owns them, and takes care of them, and can, when he pleases, reduce us to that condition. Let those that thus reproach their Maker know that they shall be called to an account for it, Mat 25:40, Mat 25:41; Pro 14:31. 2. What great danger those are in of falling into trouble themselves who are pleased to see and hear of the trou…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 17:5

(Compare Pro 14:31). glad at calamities--rejoicing in others' evil. Such are rightly punished by God, who knows their hearts.

John Gill on Proverbs 17:5

Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker,.... He that mocks the poor for his poverty, Upbraids him with his mean appearance, scoffs at the clothes he wears or food he eats, such an one reproaches his Creator; or, as the Targum, "provokes his Creator to anger;'' him who is his own Creator as well as the poor man's; him who made the poor man, both as a man and as a poor man; and who could have made him rich if he would, as well as the man that mocks at him; whose riches are not of himself, but of God; and who can take them away, and give them to the poor man if he pleases; and therefore rich men should be careful how they mock the poor; for, as Gersom observes, he that derides a work der…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 17:1-5

Pro 17:1 A comparative proverb with טוב, pairing with Pro 16:32 : Better a dry piece of bread, and quietness therewith, Than a house full of slain beasts with unquietness. Similar to this in form and contents are Pro 15:16. and Pro 16:8. פּת חרבה is a piece of bread (פת, fem., as Pro 23:8) without savoury drink (Theodotion, καθ ̓ ἑαυτόν, i.e., nothing with it), cf. Lev 7:10, a meat-offering without the pouring out of oil. זבחים are not sacrificial gifts (Hitzig), but, as always, slain animals, i.e., either offerings or banquets of slain beasts; it is the old name of the שׁלמים (cf. Exo 18:12; Exo 24:5; Pro 7:14), part of which only were offered on the altar, and part presented as a banquet…

The Church Fathers

"He who laughs at the poor irritates his creator." Why? Because God is the creator of the poor. Who is so cruel, who is so inhuman, that when he should be moved to compassion he laughs instead? Certainly this too will have to be punished. That person will perish because he sins against the high and wise providence of God.
— John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON, FRAGMENT 17:5

Let no man suppose that because he is rich more deference ought to be shewn him. In the Church he is rich, who is rich in faith, for the faithful have a whole world of riches. What wonder is it that the faithful should possess the world, seeing he possesses the heritage of Christ, which is more precious than the world? Ye were redeemed with precious blood, is said to all, and not to the rich only.
— Ambrose of Milan, Letters 61-70

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Malice · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Poor, The · By mocking, God is reproached — By mocking, God is reproached

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Proverbs 17:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 17:5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 17:5

John Gill on Proverbs 17:5

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 17:1-5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 17:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 17:5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 17:5

John Gill on Proverbs 17:5

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 17:1-5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 17:5

Rashi on Proverbs 17:4