Proverbs 18:23 (WEB)

Passage

The poor plead for mercy, but the rich answer harshly.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 18:22 Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor of Yahweh.

Proverbs 18:23 The poor plead for mercy, but the rich answer harshly.

Proverbs 18:24 A man of many companions may be ruined, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "Whoever finds a wife finds a good..." into verse 24's "A man of many companions may be...", so "mercy" and "poor" 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 "mercy" and "poor" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.