Proverbs 13:7

Maketh himself rich. Some think this clause should be given the meaning, "maketh himself out to be rich," and likewise the second clause, "maketh himself out to be poor." This interpretation makes both men hypocrites—one pretending to be rich when he is poor, the other to be poor when he is rich. However, there seems to be no real antithesis and no lesson in such a reading. The translation, as it stands, is equally allowable and suggests a teaching similar to that of our Saviour concerning those who gain the world yet lose their souls, and the wiser ones who use their means to build up an eternal treasure in heaven (see Mark 8:36; Luke 12:15-21, 33).