The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor hears not rebuke.
All Commentaries on Proverbs 13:8 Go To Proverbs 13
John Chrysostom
AD 407
“The redemption of the soul of a man is his own wealth.” What are you saying? What do you mean by exalting so much wealth? First of all he [Solomon] did not speak about just any wealth but that which is produced through honest activities. Poverty is not, therefore, an evil thing. Rather, he says that no one who wants to may threaten someone who is poor; indeed how can some one terrify one who possesses nothing? For this reason this kind of life is devoid of afflictions. Or, maybe he [Solomon] calls “his own wealth” “righteousness” which snatches him away from death. So the one who is poor in virtue does not have a mind at peace when he suffers threats or the declaration of a punishment. Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon, Fragment
