Proverbs 22:7 (WEB)

Passage

The rich rule over the poor. The borrower is servant to the lender.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 22:5 Thorns and snares are in the path of the wicked: whoever guards his soul stays from them.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:7 The rich rule over the poor. The borrower is servant to the lender.

Proverbs 22:8 He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

Proverbs 22:9 He who has a generous eye will be blessed; for he shares his food with the poor.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "rich", "rule", "over", "poor", "borrower", "servant", and "lender". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "rich" and "rule", 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 in the way..." into verse 8's "He who sows wickedness reaps trouble and...", so "rich" and "rule" 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 "rule" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.