Pro 13:8 | NET2full | STEP | The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth , thus the poor person has never heard a threat .

Proverbs 13:8

8 The ransom ^{▼▼sn As the word “ransom” (כֹּפֶר, cofer) indicates, the rich are susceptible to kidnapping and robbery. But the poor man pays no attention to blackmail—he does not have money to buy off oppressors. So the rich person is exposed to legal attacks and threats of physical violence and must use his wealth as ransom.} of a person’s ^{▼▼tn Heb “the life of a man.”} life is his wealth,
thus the poor person has never heard ^{▼▼tn Heb “has not heard.” The perfect verb form has been chosen to emphasize the pattern that has been known from past experience. It implies that the pattern is unlikely to change.} a threat. ^{▼▼tn The term גְּעָרָה (geʿarah) may mean (1) “rebuke” (so KJV, NASB) or (2) “threat” (so NIV84; cf. ASV, NRSV, NLT). NIV11 translates “threatening rebukes.” If “rebuke” is the sense here, it means that the burdens of society fall on the rich as well as the dangers. But the sense of “threat” better fits the context: The rich are threatened with extortion, but the poor are not (cf. CEV “the poor don’t have that problem”).}