Proverbs 22:16

He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
oppresseth	עֹ֣שֵֽׁק 'O.shek	H6231	to press upon · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
poor	דָּ֭ל dal	H1800	properly · adjective, masculine singular absolute
increase	לְהַרְבּ֣וֹת le.har.Bot	H7235	to increase (in whatever respect) · preposition + verb, hiphil infinitive construct
giveth	נֹתֵ֥ן no.Ten	H5414	to give · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
rich	לְ֝עָשִׁ֗יר le.'a.Shir	H6223	rich · preposition + adjective, masculine singular absolute
want	לְמַחְסֽוֹר le.mach.Sor	H4270	deficiency · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute

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 22:22-23 Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
Psalms 12:5 For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffe…
James 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
James 5:1-5 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Luke 14:12-14 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen,…
Proverbs 14:31 He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
Proverbs 28:3 A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
Luke 6:33-35 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 22:16

This shows what evil courses rich men sometimes take, by which, in the end, they will impoverish themselves and provoke God, notwithstanding their abundance, to bring them to want; they oppress the poor and give to the rich. 1. They will not in charity relieve the poor, but withhold from them, that by saving that which is really the best, but which they think the most needless part of their expenses, they may increase their riches; but they will make presents to the rich, and give them great entertainments, either in pride and vain-glory, that they may look great, or in policy, that they may receive it again with advantage. Such shall surely come to want. Many have been beggared by a foolish…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 22:16

These two vices pertain to the same selfish feeling. Both are deservedly odious to God and incur punishment.

John Gill on Proverbs 22:16

He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches,.... By taking away from them the little they have; by keeping back their hire, defrauding them of the just wages of their labours; or by usury and extortion, or any other unjust method, whereby they distress the poor, and enrich themselves; and he that giveth to the rich shall surely come to want: that gives to those that are richer than he; or that are in greater power and authority, that they may protect him in the possession of his ill gotten riches; yet, after all, it shall not thrive and prosper with him, it will all issue in poverty and want: or, as the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "he shall give to one more rich, and shall want…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 22:16

16 Whosoever oppresseth the lowly, it is gain to him; Whosoever giveth to the rich, it is only loss. It is before all clear that להרבּות and למחסור, as at Pro 21:5, למותר and למחסור, are contrasted words, and form the conclusions to the participles used, with the force of hypothetical antecedents. Jerome recognises this: qui calumniatur pauperem, ut augeat divitias suas, dabit ipse ditiori et egebit. So Rashi, who by עשׁיר thinks on heathen potentates. Proportionally better Euchel, referring עשׁק and נתן, not to one person, but to two classes of men: he who oppresses the poor to enrich himself, and is liberal toward the rich, falls under want. The antithetic distich thus becomes an integral…

The Church Fathers

He who oppresses the poor, etc. It is evident that the rapacious, those who take from the poor and also those who seem to justly possess what they have, lose everything equally, when, in the examination of the strict judge, they receive punishment for the things they have done. But even those who slander their brother, poor in spirit, by detracting from his virtues, in order to increase the wealth they desire, that is, the glory of human praise, appearing holier by his reproach; rightfully such a slanderer loses whatever good action he seemed to possess and will remain void of the fruit of virtues in the end. This is the furthest point reached by the title of the Proverbs of Solomon, set above; from which it is proven he assumed a new manner of speaking so that what he says appears not as if teaching someone else but as if reasoning alone with himself. Indeed, the first verse of these Proverbs is, A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother. This is the last verse to which we have explained down to here. From here, he returns to the previous manner of speaking to address a specific person to whom he gives instruction; which so begins, Incline your ear, etc. He sets a most beautiful beginning of the new speech, so that one whom he teaches, he bids to incline his ear to listen and his heart to understand what wise men say.
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

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

Covetousness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Employee · OPPRESSIONS OF — OPPRESSIONS OF
Employer · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Flattery · 5:8,9;12:2,3;36:2;49:13,18;78:36; — 5:8,9;12:2,3;36:2;49:13,18;78:36;
Injustice · Specially to be avoided towards: The poor — Specially to be avoided towards: The poor
Master · SCRIPTURES RELATING TO MASTERS OF SERVANTS — SCRIPTURES RELATING TO MASTERS OF SERVANTS
Poor, The · Punishment for: Oppressing — Punishment for: Oppressing
Riches · Denunciations against those who: Increase, by oppression — Denunciations against those who: Increase, by oppression

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 22:16

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 22:16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 22:16

John Gill on Proverbs 22:16

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 22:16

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 22:16

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 22:16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 22:16

John Gill on Proverbs 22:16

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 22:16

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 22:16

Rashi on Proverbs 22:16