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Wealth adds many friends,
    but the poor are left friendless.(A)
The false witness will not go unpunished,
    and whoever utters lies will not escape.[a](B)
Many curry favor with a noble;
    everybody is a friend of a gift giver.
All the kin of the poor despise them;
    how much more do their friends shun them![b]

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Footnotes

  1. 19:5 The punishment fits the crime: those who abuse the legal system will be punished by the same system. They will not be acquitted.
  2. 19:7 Closely related to vv. 4 and 6. An observation, not without sympathy, on the social isolation of poor people.

Wealth attracts many friends,
    but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.(A)

A false witness(B) will not go unpunished,(C)
    and whoever pours out lies will not go free.(D)

Many curry favor with a ruler,(E)
    and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.(F)

The poor are shunned by all their relatives—
    how much more do their friends avoid them!(G)
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
    they are nowhere to be found.[a](H)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.