²⁷ Put your outdoor work in order
    and get your fields ready;
    after that, build your house.

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)

² It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
    to search out a matter is the glory of kings.^(A)

¹³ Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time
    is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him;
    he refreshes the spirit of his master.^(A)

¹³ A sluggard says,^(A) “There’s a lion in the road,
    a fierce lion roaming the streets!”^(B)
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
    so a sluggard turns on his bed.^(C)
15 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
    he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.^(D)
16 A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
    than seven people who answer discreetly.

²³ Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,^(A)
    give careful attention to your herds;

¹⁹ Those who work their land will have abundant food,
    but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.^(A)

²⁴ “Four things on earth are small,
    yet they are extremely wise:
²⁵ Ants are creatures of little strength,
    yet they store up their food in the summer;^(A)
26 hyraxes^(B) are creatures of little power,
    yet they make their home in the crags;
²⁷ locusts^(C) have no king,
    yet they advance together in ranks;
²⁸ a lizard can be caught with the hand,
    yet it is found in kings’ palaces.