Albert Barnes Commentary Proverbs 13:8

"The ransom of a man`s life is his riches; But the poor heareth no threatening." — Proverbs 13:8 (ASV)

On the one side is the seeming advantage of wealth. The rich man who gets out of many troubles often escapes from a just retribution by his money. But then the poor man in his turn is free from the risk of the threats and litigation that beset the rich. He hears no rebuke (the words are not used as in Proverbs 13:1) just as the dead hear not the voice of the oppressor (Job 3:18) or the abuse of the envious.