Proverbs 29:13

13 The poor person and the cruel person are alike in that the Lord gave eyes to both of them.

Proverbs 29:13 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 29:13

The poor and the deceitful man meet together
Or "the usurer" F17; who by usury, by fraud and deception, is possessed of the mammon of unrighteousness, and is become rich; he and the poor man meet together; and so the sense is the same as in ( Proverbs 22:2 ) ; (See Gill on Proverbs 22:2); the Lord lighteneth both their eyes;
with the light of natural life, and with the light of natural reason, ( John 1:4 John 1:9 ) ; and so is the same as being "the Maker of them all", in the above place; or he bestows his providential favours on both; causes his sun to shine upon the rich and poor, the wicked and the righteous, ( Matthew 5:45 ) . Or it may be understood of the light of grace; for though, for the most part, God chooses and calls the poor of the world, and lightens their eyes with the light of his grace, when not many wise and noble are called and enlightened; yet this is not restrained wholly to men of one and the same condition of life; yea, God sometimes calls and enlightens publicans, tax gatherers, and extortioners, as Matthew and Zacchaeus.


FOOTNOTES:

F17 (Mybkt vya) "vir usurarum", Mercerus; "foenerator", Piscator, Tigurine version; "usurarius", Munster.

Proverbs 29:13 In-Context

11 Foolish people lose their tempers, but wise people control theirs.
12 If a ruler pays attention to lies, all his officers will become wicked.
13 The poor person and the cruel person are alike in that the Lord gave eyes to both of them.
14 If a king judges poor people fairly, his government will continue forever.
15 Correction and punishment make children wise, but those left alone will disgrace their mother.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.