The Folly of Indolence

(A)Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
Which, having no [a]captain,
Overseer or ruler,
Provides her [b]supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.
(B)How long will you [c]slumber, O sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep—
11 (C)So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:7 Lit. leader
  2. Proverbs 6:8 Lit. bread
  3. Proverbs 6:9 Lit. lie down

Go to the ant, you sluggard;(A)
    consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer(B)
    and gathers its food at harvest.(C)

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?(D)
    When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest(E)
11 and poverty(F) will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

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(A)He who has a slack hand becomes poor,
But (B)the hand of the diligent makes rich.
He who gathers in (C)summer is a wise son;
He who sleeps in harvest is (D)a son who causes shame.

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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)

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26 As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
So is the lazy man to those who send him.

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26 As vinegar to the teeth and smoke(A) to the eyes,
    so are sluggards to those who send them.(B)

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11 (A)He who [a]tills his land will be satisfied with (B)bread,
But he who follows [b]frivolity (C)is devoid of [c]understanding.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:11 works or cultivates
  2. Proverbs 12:11 Lit. vain things
  3. Proverbs 12:11 Lit. heart

11 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
    but those who chase fantasies have no sense.(A)

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24 (A)The hand of the diligent will rule,
But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.

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24 Diligent hands will rule,
    but laziness ends in forced labor.(A)

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27 The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting,
But diligence is man’s precious possession.

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27 The lazy do not roast[a] any game,
    but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:27 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

(A)The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;
But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

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A sluggard’s appetite is never filled,(A)
    but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

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Where no oxen are, the [a]trough is clean;
But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:4 manger or feed trough

Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
    but from the strength of an ox(A) come abundant harvests.

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23 In all labor there is profit,
But [a]idle chatter leads only to poverty.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:23 Lit. talk of the lips

23 All hard work brings a profit,
    but mere talk leads only to poverty.

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19 (A)The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns,
But the way of the upright is a highway.

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19 The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns,(A)
    but the path of the upright is a highway.

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26 The person who labors, labors for himself,
For his hungry mouth drives (A)him on.

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26 The appetite of laborers works for them;
    their hunger drives them on.

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He who is slothful in his work
Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.

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One who is slack in his work
    is brother to one who destroys.(A)

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15 (A)Laziness casts one into a deep sleep,
And an idle person will (B)suffer hunger.

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15 Laziness brings on deep sleep,
    and the shiftless go hungry.(A)

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