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The slack hand impoverishes,
    but the busy hand brings riches.(A)
A son who gathers in summer is a credit;
    a son who slumbers during harvest, a disgrace.
Blessings are for the head of the just;
    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 10:6 This saying, like several others in the chapter, plays on the different senses of the verb “to cover.” As in English, “to cover” can mean to fill (as in Is 60:2) and to conceal (as in Jb 16:18). Colon B can be read either “violence fills the mouth (= head) of the wicked” or “the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.” The ambiguity is intentional; the proverb is meant to be read both ways.

Lazy hands make for poverty,(A)
    but diligent hands bring wealth.(B)

He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son,
    but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.(C)

Blessings crown the head of the righteous,
    but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.[a](D)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:6 Or righteous, / but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence