As usual in Proverbs, the rich are discredited in this saying.

“A rich man is wise in his own eyes”: “Wise in his own eyes” means the rich person thinks himself wise when he really is not; see 26.5 where the fool is described in the same way.

“But a poor man who has understanding will find him out”: “Will find him out” renders a verb meaning “to search” or “examine.” “Him” refers back to the rich man. The idea expressed by “find him out” here is that the poor man knows that the rich man, in spite of his wealth, is not wise. Bible en français courant says “The rich person thinks that he acts wisely, but an intelligent poor man can unmask him,” that is, “. . . expose him for what he really is.” One translation expresses this as “But the poor person who has good thinking understands his real character.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .