Proverbs 22:7 (LSB)

Passage

The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is the slave of the lender.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; He who keeps his soul will be far from them.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child according to his way, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:7 The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is the slave of the lender.

Proverbs 22:8 He who sows unrighteousness will reap iniquity, And the rod of his fury will end.

Proverbs 22:9 He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives from his food to the poor.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "rich", "rules", "over", "poor", "borrower", "slave", and "lender". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "rich" and "rules", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "Train up a child according to his..." into verse 8's "He who sows unrighteousness will reap iniquity...", so "rich" and "rules" 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 "rich" and "rules" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.