Proverbs 28:3
“A needy man who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain which leaves no crops.”
What does Proverbs 28:3 mean?
When someone who has little themselves turns around and takes advantage of those with even less, they become destructive in a way that hurts everyone. The image of driving rain that destroys crops instead of nourishing them captures how this oppression leaves nothing good behind, not even the basic provision that might have existed. There's a particular bitterness to it: the person knows what poverty feels like, yet uses that knowledge to prey on others rather than to show mercy. The proverb suggests that such cruelty ultimately benefits no one and damages the community itself.