”Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, He also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.“
Proverbs 21:13
It appears one way this passage could be re-stated is this:
The person hiding from (or closing their ears to prevent) hearing the cry of a sick, weak or lowly individual will, one day, call out for help from their acquaintances or friends but none will answer.
To be perfectly honest, this passage perplexes me a little.
Generally, there is an idea, like a foundation, upon which many of these passages are built. The passage itself is, most often, a metaphor, story, allegory or phrase which is used to express the underlying foundational idea.
In this situation the foundational idea appears to be the refusal to acknowledge a person in need is inviting ruin to visit its wrath on you.
My goal in writing is to find the foundational meanings, expose them through some of the various levels and layers Proverbs utilizes and to express the foundational ideas as how they could possibly be applied to improve our lives.
On this particular passage, I do not see how this can be applied other than simply taken at face value.
Perhaps, if I open myself up to the idea and start looking for scenarios where this plays out, I can see it happen around me. The scriptures tell us to ask for wisdom and it will be given.
I will ask and keep my senses tuned for an answer.