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A slave who acts insightfully will rule over a son who acts shamefully,
And will share in the inheritance among brothers.

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A prudent servant will rule in place of a disgraceful son
    and will share in the inheritance among brothers.

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He also who is (A)slack in his work
(B)Is brother to him who destroys.

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Avoiding Fools and Their Foolishness

Whoever is lazy regarding his work
    is also a brother to the master of destruction.

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15 (A)Laziness casts into a deep sleep,
And a slack-handed soul will suffer hunger.

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15 Laziness puts one to sleep,
    and an idle person will go hungry.

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24 The (A)sluggard buries his hand (B)in the dish,
But will not even bring it back to his mouth.

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24 The lazy person buries his hand in his dish
    and doesn’t bother to bring it back to his mouth.

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The (A)sluggard does not plow from winter on,
So he [a]begs during the harvest and has nothing.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:4 Lit asks

A lazy person doesn’t plow in the proper[a] season;
    he looks for a harvest, but there is nothing.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:4 The Heb. lacks proper

13 (A)Do not love sleep, lest you become poor;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with [a]food.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:13 Lit bread

13 Do not love sleep or you’ll become poor,
    keep your eyes open and you’ll have plenty of food.

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The [a]thoughts of the (A)diligent lead surely to profit,
But everyone (B)who is hasty comes surely to poverty.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:5 Or plans

Plans of the persistent surely lead to productivity,
    but all who are hasty will surely become poor.

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17 He who (A)loves [a]pleasure will become a poor man;
He who loves wine and oil will not become rich.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:17 Lit gladness

17 Pleasure lovers become poor;
    loving wine and oil doesn’t bring riches.

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25 The (A)desire of the sluggard puts him to death,
For his hands refuse to work;
26 All day long he [a]is insatiably craving,
While the righteous (B)gives and does not hold back.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:26 Lit desires desire

25 What the lazy person craves will kill him,
    because his hands refuse to work.
26 All day long he continues to crave,
    while the righteous person gives without holding back.

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13 The (A)sluggard says, “There is a lion outside;
I will be killed in the streets!”

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13 The lazy person says, “There is a lion outside!
    I will be killed in the street!”

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29 Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will (A)stand before kings;
He will not stand before obscure men.

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29 Do you see a man skilled in his work?
    He will work for kings, not unimportant people.

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10 If you (A)are slack in the day of trouble,
Your strength is in trouble.

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10 If you grow weary when times are troubled,
    your strength is limited.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 24:10 Or undersized