Proverbs 18:23 (DRB)

Passage

The poor will speak with supplications, and the rich will speak roughly.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: they that love it, shall eat the fruits thereof.

Proverbs 18:22 He that hath found a good wife, hath found a good thing, and shall receive a pleasure from the Lord. He that driveth away a good wife, driveth away a good thing: but he that keepeth an adulteress, is foolish and wicked.

Proverbs 18:23 The poor will speak with supplications, and the rich will speak roughly.

Proverbs 18:24 A man amiable in society, shall be more friendly than a brother.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "poor", "speak", "supplications", "rich", and "roughly". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "poor" and "speak", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "He that hath found a good wife..." into verse 24's "A man amiable in society shall be...", so "poor" and "speak" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "poor" and "speak" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.