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Contemporary English Version

Proverbs 10:15

Great wealth can be a fortress, but poverty is no protection at all.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Poor;   Poverty;   Thompson Chain Reference - Poverty-Riches;   The Topic Concordance - Poverty;   Wealth;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Cities;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Proverb, the Book of;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Prov'erbs, Book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Poverty;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for February 2;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The wealth of the rich is his fortified city;the poverty of the poor is their destruction.
Hebrew Names Version
The rich man's wealth is his strong city. The destruction of the poor is their poverty.
King James Version
The rich man's wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.
English Standard Version
A rich man's wealth is his strong city; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
New American Standard Bible
The rich person's wealth is his fortress, The ruin of the poor is their poverty.
New Century Version
Having lots of money protects the rich, but having no money destroys the poor.
New English Translation
The wealth of a rich person is like a fortified city, but the poor are brought to ruin by their poverty.
Amplified Bible
The rich man's wealth is his fortress; The ruin of the poor is their poverty.
World English Bible
The rich man's wealth is his strong city. The destruction of the poor is their poverty.
Geneva Bible (1587)
The riche mans goodes are his strong citie: but the feare of the needie is their pouertie.
Legacy Standard Bible
The rich man's wealth is his strong city,The ruin of the poor is their poverty.
Berean Standard Bible
The wealth of the rich man is his fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
Complete Jewish Bible
The wealth of the rich is his fortified city; the ruin of the poor is their poverty.
Darby Translation
The rich man's wealth is his strong city; the destruction of the poor is their poverty.
Easy-to-Read Version
Wealth protects the rich, but poverty destroys the poor.
George Lamsa Translation
The rich mens wealth is their strong cities; the destruction of the poor is their poverty.
Good News Translation
Wealth protects the rich; poverty destroys the poor.
Lexham English Bible
The wealth of the rich is the city of his strength; the ruin of the poor is their poverty.
Literal Translation
The rich man's wealth is his strong city; the ruin of the poor is their poverty.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The rich mas goodes are his stroge holde, but pouerte oppresseth the poore.
American Standard Version
The rich man's wealth is his strong city: The destruction of the poor is their poverty.
Bible in Basic English
The property of the man of wealth is his strong town: the poor man's need is his destruction.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
The rich man's wealth is his strong city; the ruin of the poor is their poverty.
King James Version (1611)
The rich mans wealth is his strong citie: the destruction of the poore is their pouertie.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The riche mans goodes are his strong holde: but their owne pouertie feareth the poore.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The wealth of rich men is a strong city; but poverty is the ruin of the ungodly.
English Revised Version
The rich man's wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
The catel of a riche man is the citee of his strengthe; the drede of pore men is the nedynesse of hem.
Update Bible Version
The rich man's wealth is his strong city: The destruction of the poor is their poverty.
Webster's Bible Translation
The rich man's wealth [is] his strong city: the destruction of the poor [is] their poverty.
New King James Version
The rich man's wealth is his strong city; The destruction of the poor is their poverty.
New Living Translation
The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their destruction.
New Life Bible
The riches of a rich man are his strength, but the need of the poor is what destroys them.
New Revised Standard
The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The substance of the rich, is his strong city, the terror of the poor, is their poverty.
Douay-Rheims Bible
The substance of a rich man is the city of his strength: the fear of the poor is their poverty.
Revised Standard Version
A rich man's wealth is his strong city; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
Young's Literal Translation
The wealth of the rich [is] his strong city, The ruin of the poor [is] their poverty.
THE MESSAGE
The wealth of the rich is their bastion; the poverty of the indigent is their ruin.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
The rich man's wealth is his fortress, The ruin of the poor is their poverty.

Contextual Overview

15 Great wealth can be a fortress, but poverty is no protection at all.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

rich: Proverbs 18:11, Job 31:24, Job 31:25, Psalms 49:6, Psalms 52:7, Ecclesiastes 7:12, Jeremiah 9:23, Mark 10:24, Luke 12:19, 1 Timothy 6:17

the destruction: Proverbs 14:20, Proverbs 19:7, Proverbs 22:22, Proverbs 22:23, Micah 2:1, Micah 2:2

Reciprocal: Proverbs 11:28 - that Proverbs 12:12 - net Proverbs 19:4 - the poor Ecclesiastes 9:16 - the poor Jeremiah 49:4 - trusted

Cross-References

Genesis 10:2
Japheth's descendants had their own languages, tribes, and land. They were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. Gomer was the ancestor of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. Javan was the ancestor of Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim, who settled along the coast.
Genesis 10:21
Shem's descendants had their own languages, tribes, and land. He was the older brother of Japheth and the ancestor of the tribes of Eber. Shem was the ancestor of Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. Aram was the ancestor of Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Arpachshad was the father of Shelah and the grandfather of Eber, whose first son was named Peleg, because it was during his time that tribes divided up the earth. Eber's second son was Joktan. Joktan was the ancestor of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. Their land reached from Mesha in the direction of Sephar, the hill country in the east.
Genesis 23:3
he went to the Hittites and said,
Genesis 49:13
Zebulun, you will settle along the seashore and provide safe harbors as far north as Sidon.
Exodus 3:8
and I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians. I will bring my people out of Egypt into a country where there is good land, rich with milk and honey. I will give them the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.
Exodus 34:11
I will force out the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, but you must do what I command you today.
Joshua 11:8
and crippled the enemies' horses. Joshua followed the Lord 's instructions, and the Lord helped Israel defeat the enemy. The Israelite army even chased enemy soldiers as far as Misrephoth-Maim to the northwest, the city of Sidon to the north, and Mizpeh Valley to the northeast. None of the enemy soldiers escaped alive. The Israelites came back after the battle and burned the enemy's chariots.
1 Chronicles 1:13
Canaan's oldest son was Sidon; his other son was Heth.
Isaiah 23:4
Sidon, you are a mighty fortress built along the sea. But you will be disgraced like a married woman who never had children.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The rich man's wealth [is] his strong city,.... What a fortified city is to persons in time of war, that is a rich man's wealth to him; by it he can defend himself from the injuries of others, and support himself and family in times of public calamity; for money is a defence, and answers all things, Ecclesiastes 7:12. Or his wealth is so in his own apprehension and conceit; he puts his trust and confidence in it, and thinks himself safe and secure by it; when he is trusting to uncertain riches, which will fail him; these may fly away from him in life, and leave him exposed to distress and danger; and, however, will not secure him at death from the wrath of God and everlasting destruction. Or he is lifted up with his riches, is in high spirits, and despises others; thinking himself safe, as in a strong castle, and fears nothing, distresses, diseases, or death;

the destruction of the poor [is] their poverty: or their poverty is their consternation, as the word h signifies, it frightens them; they, knowing their circumstances, are afraid of everybody and of every thing; not being able to defend themselves against their enemies, or support themselves in times of public calamity, as war, famine, or pestilence.

h מחתה "consternatio", Mercerus, Gejerus, Michaelis.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Destruction - That which crushes, throws into ruins. Wealth secures its possessors against many dangers; poverty exposes men to worse evils than itself, meanness, servility, and cowardice. Below the surface there lies, it may be, a grave irony against the rich; see Proverbs 18:11.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 10:15. The rich man's wealth is his strong city — Behold a mystery in providence; there is not a rich man on earth but becomes such by means of the poor! Property comes from the labour of the poor, and the king himself is served of the field. How unjust, diabolically so, is it to despise or oppress those by whose labour all property is acquired!

The destruction of the poor is their poverty. — A man in abject poverty never arises out of this pit. They have no nucleus about which property may aggregate. The poet spoke well: -

Haud facile emergunt, quorum virtutibus obstat

Res angusta domi.

"They rarely emerge from poverty, whose exertions

are cramped by want at home."


 
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