Proverbs 14:28

14:28 A king’s glory is77 the abundance of people,

but the lack of subjects78 is the ruin79 of a ruler.

77	tn The preposition serves as the beth essentiae—the glory is the abundant population, not in it.
78	tn Heb “people.” Cf. NLT “a dwindling nation.”
79	sn The word means “ruin; destruction,” but in this context it could be a metonymy of effect, the cause being an attack by more numerous people that will bring ruin to the ruler. The proverb is purely a practical and secular saying, unlike some of the faith teachings in salvation history passages.