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Proverbs 10:4-5
New English Translation
Proverbs 10:4-5
New English Translation
4 The one who is lazy[a] becomes poor,[b]
but the one who works diligently[c] becomes wealthy.[d]
5 The one who gathers crops[e] in the summer is a wise[f] son,
but the one who sleeps[g] during harvest is a shameful son.[h]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 10:4 tn Heb “a palm of slackness.” The genitive noun רְמִיָּה (remiyyah, “slackness”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a slack palm” (BDB 941 s.v.). The term כַף (khaf, “palm”) is a synecdoche of part (= palm) for the whole person (= one who works with his hands). The hand is emphasized because it is the instrument of physical labor. The “slack hand” is contrasted with the “diligent hand.” A slack hand refers to a lazy worker or careless work that such hands produce. See N. C. Habel, “Wisdom, Wealth, and Poverty Paradigms in the Book of Proverbs,” BiBh 14 (1988): 28-49.
- Proverbs 10:4 tc The MT reads רָאשׁ (raʾsh, “poor”) which is the plene spelling of רָשׁ (rash, “poor [person]”; HALOT 1229-30 s.v. רֵישׁ). Both Tg. Prov 10:4 and LXX reflect an alternate vocalization רִישׁ (rish, “poverty”) which is from the same root, and essentially means the same thing.tn Heb “causes poverty.” The expression is literally, “the palm of slackness causes poverty.”
- Proverbs 10:4 tn Heb “but the hand of the diligent” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). The genitive noun חָרוּצִים (kharutsim, “diligence”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a diligent hand.” The noun חָרוּצִים (kharutsim) uses the plural form because the plural is often used for abstract moral qualities. The term יָד (yad, “hand”) is a synecdoche of part (= “hand”) for the whole person (= “the one who works with his hands”). The hand is emphasized because it is the instrument of physical labor.
- Proverbs 10:4 tn Heb “makes rich” (so NASB, NRSV). The Hiphil verb is used in a causative sense; literally, “the hand of the diligent makes rich.”
- Proverbs 10:5 tn The direct object “crops” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the verb; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.
- Proverbs 10:5 tn Heb “prudent.” The term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) refers to a wise and so successful person. He seizes the opportunity, knowing the importance of the season.
- Proverbs 10:5 sn The term “sleeps” is figurative, an implied comparison that has become idiomatic (like the contemporary English expression “asleep on the job”). It means that this individual is lazy or oblivious to the needs of the hour.
- Proverbs 10:5 tn Heb “a son who acts shamefully.”
Proverbs 10:4-5
New American Standard Bible
Proverbs 10:4-5
New American Standard Bible
4 Poor is one who works with [a]a lazy hand,
But the (A)hand of the diligent makes rich.
5 He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely,
But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 10:4 Lit an idle hand
Proverbs 10:26
New English Translation
Proverbs 10:26
New English Translation
26 Like vinegar to the teeth and like smoke to the eyes,[a]
so is the sluggard to those[b] who send him.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 10:26 sn Two similes are used to portray the aggravation in sending a lazy person to accomplish a task. Vinegar to the teeth is an unpleasant, irritating experience; and smoke to the eyes is an unpleasant experience that hinders progress.
- Proverbs 10:26 tn The participle is plural, and so probably should be taken in a distributive sense: “to each one who sends him.”
Proverbs 10:26
New American Standard Bible
Proverbs 10:26
New American Standard Bible
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 10:26 Lit idle one
New English Translation (NET)
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