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Take a lesson from the ant, you who love leisure and ease.
    Observe how it works, and dare to be just as wise.
It has no boss,
    no one laying down the law or telling it what to do,
Yet it gathers its food through summer
    and takes what it needs from the harvest.
How long do you plan to lounge your life away, you lazy fool?
    Will you ever get out of bed?
10 You say, “A little sleep, a little rest,
    a few more minutes, a nice little nap.”
11 But soon poverty will be on top of you like a robber;
    need will assault you like a well-armed warrior.

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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 slack hand produces nothing but poverty,
    but an industrious hand soon takes hold of riches.
A wise son stores up for the winter months while it is still summer,
    but a shameful son lies around even during the harvest.

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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 vexes the teeth, and as smoke irritates the eyes,
    so a slacker annoys his boss.

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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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A person in a positive relationship with God stands in a right relationship with His creation. How we treat animals may mirror our souls—not just the pets in our home, but the pets in our neighborhood and the animals in our food supply. One who is truly right with God considers the needs of His creatures.

11 Whoever works the land will have more than enough food,
    but whoever follows empty pursuits lacks sense.

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

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24 The hand of the hard workers will one day rule,
    and slackers will be forced to labor.

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

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27 Slackers don’t take time to cook their food,[a]
    but hard workers prize everything they have.

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Footnotes

  1. 12:27 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

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.

Slackers crave but have their fill of nothing,
    but the hardworking desire and are completely satisfied.

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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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11 Money earned hastily is easily lost,
    but hard-earned money continues to grow.

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11 Dishonest money dwindles away,(A)
    but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.

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23 Prosperity comes from hard work,
    but talking too much leads to great scarcity.

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

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19 Lazy people walk a path overgrown with thornbushes,
    but those with integrity travel a wide, level road.

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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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Those who slack off at work
    are no different from vandals.

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

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15 Laziness lulls people into a deep sleep;
    a slacker will have nothing to eat.

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

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24 Some people are so lazy—they reach for food on the plate
    but lack the will to bring it up to their mouths.

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24 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
    he will not even bring it back to his mouth!(A)

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