27 Prepare your work outside,
And (A)make it ready for yourself in the field;
Afterward, then, build your house.

Read full chapter

30 I passed by the field of [a]a lazy one,
And by the vineyard of a person (A)lacking [b]sense,
31 And behold, it was completely (B)overgrown with weeds;
Its surface was covered with (C)weeds,
And its stone (D)wall was broken down.
32 When I saw, I [c]reflected upon it;
I looked, and received instruction.
33 (E)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest,”
34 Then your poverty will come like [d]a drifter,
And your need like [e]an armed man.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 24:30 Lit an idle
  2. Proverbs 24:30 Lit heart
  3. Proverbs 24:32 Lit set my heart
  4. Proverbs 24:34 Lit one who moves about
  5. Proverbs 24:34 Lit a man with a shield

It is the glory of God to (A)conceal a matter,
But the glory of (B)kings is to search out a matter.

Read full chapter

13 Like the cold of snow in the [a]time of harvest
Is a (A)faithful messenger to those who send him,
For he refreshes the soul of his masters.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 25:13 Lit day

13 [a]A (A)lazy one says, “There is a lion on the road!
A lion is [b]in the public square!”
14 As the door turns on its hinges,
So does a (B)lazy one on his bed.
15 A (C)lazy one buries his hand in the dish;
He is weary of bringing it to his mouth again.
16 A lazy one is (D)wiser in his own eyes
Than seven people who can [c]give a discreet answer.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:13 Lit an idle, and so throughout the ch
  2. Proverbs 26:13 Lit within
  3. Proverbs 26:16 Lit return discreetly

23 (A)Know well the [a]condition of your flocks,
And pay attention to your herds;

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:23 Lit face

19 (A)One who works his land will (B)have plenty of food,
But one who follows empty pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

Read full chapter

24 Four things are small on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
25 The (A)ants are not a strong people,
But they prepare their food in the summer;
26 The (B)rock hyraxes are not a mighty people,
Yet they make their houses in the rocks;
27 The locusts have no king,
Yet all of them go out in (C)ranks;
28 The lizard you may grasp with the hands,
Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

Read full chapter

Bible Gateway Recommends