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Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
    Learn from their ways and become wise!
Though they have no prince
    or governor or ruler to make them work,
they labor hard all summer,
    gathering food for the winter.
But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?
    When will you wake up?
10 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest—
11 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
    scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

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Go to the (A)ant, O (B)sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,
Which, having (C)no chief,
Officer or ruler,
Prepares her food (D)in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.
How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 (E)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to [a]rest”—
11 (F)Your poverty will come in like [b]a vagabond
And your want like [c]an armed man.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:10 Lit lie down
  2. Proverbs 6:11 Lit one who walks
  3. Proverbs 6:11 Lit a man with a shield

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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Lazy people are soon poor;
    hard workers get rich.

A wise youth harvests in the summer,
    but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace.

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Poor is he who works with a slack [a]hand,
But the (A)hand of the diligent makes rich.
He who gathers in summer is a son who acts insightfully,
But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:4 Lit palm

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 Lazy people irritate their employers,
    like vinegar to the teeth or smoke in the eyes.

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26 Like vinegar to the teeth and like smoke to the eyes,
So is the (A)sluggard 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 hard worker has plenty of food,
    but a person who chases fantasies has no sense.

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11 He (A)who cultivates his land will be satisfied with bread,
But he who pursues empty things lacks a heart of wisdom.

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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 Work hard and become a leader;
    be lazy and become a slave.

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24 The hand of the diligent will rule,
But [a]the slack hand will be (A)put to forced labor.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:24 Lit slackness

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

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27 Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch,
    but the diligent make use of everything they find.

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27 A slack handed man does not [a]roast his prey,
But the wealth of a man is (A)precious for the diligent.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:27 Or catch

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.

Lazy people want much but get little,
    but those who work hard will prosper.

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The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
But the soul of the diligent is enriched.

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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 Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears;
    wealth from hard work grows over time.

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11 Wealth obtained from empty effort dwindles,
But the one who gathers [a]with his hand abounds.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:11 Or gradually

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

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23 Work brings profit,
    but mere talk leads to poverty!

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23 In all painful labor there is profit,
But mere words from the lips lead only to want.

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

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