Wealth protects the rich; poverty destroys the poor.

Even the relatives of a poor person have no use for him; no wonder he has no friends. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot win any.

You are like those streams to me, you see my fate and draw back in fear.

or to save me from some enemy or tyrant?

God has made my own family forsake me; I am a stranger to those who knew me;

my relatives and friends are gone.

They treat me with disgust; they think they are too good for me, and even come and spit in my face.

Rich people are always finding new friends, but the poor cannot keep the few they have.

Everyone tries to gain the favor of important people; everyone claims the friendship of those who give out favors.

The king ordered all the officials in his service to show their respect for Haman by kneeling and bowing to him. They all did so, except for Mordecai, who refused to do it.

But he controlled himself and went on home. Then he invited his friends to his house and asked his wife Zeresh to join them.

He boasted to them about how rich he was, how many sons he had, how the king had promoted him to high office, and how much more important he was than any of the king's other officials.