Proverbs 19:7
“All the relatives of the poor shun him: how much more do his friends avoid him! He pursues them with pleas, but they are gone.”
What does Proverbs 19:7 mean?
Loneliness often deepens poverty. When someone falls into hard times, the people they counted on tend to distance themselves, and this verse names that painful reality without softening it. Even family members, who we might expect to show up, can become scarce when someone has nothing left to offer. The second part captures something especially tender and difficult: the poor person's desperate efforts to reconnect ("pursues them with pleas") only drive people further away. It's not just about money but about how hardship can make us feel invisible or burdensome to those around us. This verse gives voice to that specific hurt, which matters because sometimes the loneliness cuts deeper than the material need itself. If you're in that place, or you know someone who is, this acknowledgment in Scripture suggests that God sees this particular suffering and it matters to him.