Pro 28:11 | NETfull | STEP | A rich person is wise in his own eyes, but a discerning poor person can evaluate him properly.

Proverbs 28:11

11 A rich person ^{▼▼ Heb “a rich man,” although the context does not indicate that this is limited only to males.} is wise in his own eyes, ^{▼▼ The idiom “in his own eyes” means “in his own opinion,” that is, his self conceit. The rich person thinks he is wise because he is rich, that he has made all the right choices.}
but a discerning poor person can evaluate him properly. ^{▼▼ The form יַחְקְרֶנּוּ (yakhq^erennu) means “he searches him” (cf. KJV, ASV) or “he examines him”; a potential imperfect nuance fits well here to indicate that a discerning person, even though poor, can search the flaws of the rich and see through the pretension and the false assumptions (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV “sees through him”). Several commentators have connected the word to the Arabic root hqr, which means “despise” (D. W. Thomas, “Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 38 [1937]: 400-403), but that would be both predictable and flat.}