Proverbs 13:8

The ransom ¹  of a person’s ²  life is his wealth, but the poor person hears no threat. ³ 

A man’s riches may ransom his life, but a poor man hears no threat.

The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth, But the poor hears no rebuke.

The rich can pay a ransom, but the poor won’t even get threatened.

The rich can be sued for everything they have, but the poor are free of such threats.

A man will give his wealth in exchange for his life; but the poor will not give ear to sharp words.

Wealth is a ransom for a person’s life, but the poor get no threats.

The ransom of a man’s life is his riches, But the poor does not hear rebuke.

The ransom ¹  of a person’s ²  life is his wealth, but the poor person hears no threat. ³ 

¹ sn As the word “ransom” (כֹּפֶר, cofer) indicates, the rich are susceptible to kidnapping and robbery. But the poor man pays no attention to blackmail – he does not have money to buy off oppressors. So the rich person is exposed to legal attacks and threats of physical violence and must use his wealth as ransom.

² tn Heb “the life of a man.”

³ tn The term גְּעָרָה (gÿ’arah) may mean (1) “rebuke” (so KJV, NASB) or (2) “threat” (so NIV; cf. ASV, NRSV, NLT ). If “rebuke” is the sense here, it means that the burdens of society fall on the rich as well as the dangers. But the sense of “threat” better fits the context: The rich are threatened with extortion, but the poor are not (cf. CEV “the poor don’t have that problem”).