SUMMARY
Attitudes toward the poor are problematic.
ANALYSIS
Proverbs 14:20 tells the truth about how the rich and the poor are treated differently: the rich have friends while the poor are disliked. Then v. 21 puts this observation in an ethical context: such an attitude is sinful. The first proverb is most certainly true, but the second proverb contains the actual wisdomWisdom encompasses the qualities of experience, knowledge, and good judgment. The Old Testament book of Proverbs, which sometimes invokes a Woman as the personification of Wisdom, is a collection of aphorisms and moral teachings. Along with other biblical passages, it teaches, "The fear of the.... (See “The Role of Contradiction/Paradox” and “The Social Ethic of Proverbs: Wealth and Poverty” entries in Bible in the World – Proverbs.)