Proverbs 14:28

A king’s glory is ¹  the abundance of people, but the lack of subjects ²  is the ruin ³  of a ruler.

Ex 1:12,22; 1Ki 4:20,21; 1Ki 20:27; 2Ki 10:32,33; 2Ki 13:7

¹ tn The preposition serves as the beth essentiae – the glory is the abundant population, not in it.

² tn Heb “people.” Cf. NLT “a dwindling nation.”

³ sn The word means “ruin; destruction,” but in this context it could be a metonymy of effect, the cause being an attack by more numerous people that will bring ruin to the ruler. The proverb is purely a practical and secular saying, unlike some of the faith teachings in salvation history passages.