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30 [a]I passed by the field of a sluggard,
    by the vineyard of one with no sense;
31 It was all overgrown with thistles;
    its surface was covered with nettles,
    and its stone wall broken down.
32 As I gazed at it, I reflected;
    I saw and learned a lesson:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,(A)
    a little folding of the arms to rest—
34 Then poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like a brigand.

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Footnotes

  1. 24:30–34 Neglect of one’s fields through laziness ruins all plans to build a house (v. 27). This vignette is a teaching story, like those in 7:1–27; Ps 37:35–36.

30 I went past the field of a sluggard,(A)
    past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
31 thorns had come up everywhere,
    the ground was covered with weeds,
    and the stone wall was in ruins.
32 I applied my heart to what I observed
    and learned a lesson from what I saw:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest(B)
34 and poverty will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.(C)

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