Proverbs 28:3

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Proverbs 28:3 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “A needy man that oppresseth the poor Is [like] a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

A needy man that oppresseth the poor Is [like] a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
Proverbs 28:3 — American Standard Version

Context — Proverbs 28

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
3A needy man that oppresseth the poor Is [like] a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“A poor man that oppresseth the poor, etc.] Either one that is poor at the time he oppresses another like himself, either by secret fraud or open injury; from whom the oppressed can get no redress, as sometimes he may and does from a rich man: or rather one that has been poor, but now become rich, and got into some place of authority and profit, who should remember what he had been; and it might be expected that such an one would put on bowels of compassion towards the poor, as knowing what it was to be in indigent circumstances; but if, instead of this, he exercises his authority over the poor in a severe and rigid manner, and oppresses them, and squeezes that little out of them they have:…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“A poor man, &c.--Such, in power, exact more severely, and so leave subjects bare.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“People raise a man of the people, poor like themselves, to power. They find him the worst oppressor of all, plundering them to their last morsels, like the storm-rain which sweeps off the seed-corn instead of bringing fertility. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“It like - Is like a violent rain or flood, which washes away the very seeds in the earth. He is the worst of all oppressors. Proverbs 28:4”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“poor man: Mat 18:28-30 which leaveth no food: Heb. without food Proverbs 28:4”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“A proverb of a tyrant here connects itself with that of usurpers: A poor man and an oppressor of the lowly - A sweeping rain without bringing bread. Thus it is to be translated according to the accents. Fleischer otherwise, but also in conformity with the accents: Quales sunt vir pauper et oppressor miserorum, tales sunt pluvia omnia secum abripiens et qui panem non habent, i.e., the relation between a poor man and an oppressor of the needy is the same as that between a rain carrying all away with it and a people robbed thereby of their sustenance; in other words: a prince or potentate who robs the poor of their possessions is like a pouring rain which floods the fruitful fields - the…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification