This proverb warns against the injustice and cruelty that often manifest in different treatment based on strength or weakness. In other words, it exhorts us not to act with cruelty or harshness towards those who are weaker simply because they are less able to defend themselves. An equivalent in English would be ‘Don’t kick a man when he’s down,’ to illustrate the idea of protecting the weak and not abusing one’s power or strength.