15 (A)Slothfulness casts into (B)a deep sleep,
    and (C)an idle person 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 (A)The sluggard buries his hand in (B)the dish
    and 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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(A)The sluggard does not plow in the autumn;
    (B)he will seek at harvest and have nothing.

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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)Love not sleep, lest you (B)come to poverty;
    open your eyes, and you will have (C)plenty of bread.

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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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17 Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;
    he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

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

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25 The desire of (A)the sluggard kills him,
    for his hands refuse to labor.
26 All day long he craves and craves,
    but the righteous (B)gives and does not hold back.

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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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29 Do you see a man skillful 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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27 (A)Prepare your work outside;
    get everything ready for yourself in the field,
    and after that build your house.

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27 First do your outside work,
    preparing your land for yourself.
        After that, build your house.

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30 (A)I passed by the field of a sluggard,
    by the vineyard of a man (B)lacking sense,
31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
    the ground was covered with nettles,
    and its stone (C)wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw and (D)considered it;
    I looked and received instruction.
33 (E)A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

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30 I went by the field belonging to a lazy man,
    by a vineyard belonging to a senseless person.
31 There it was, overgrown with thistles,
    the ground covered with thorns,
        its stone wall collapsed.
32 As I observed, I thought about it;
    I watched, and learned a lesson:
33 “A little sleep! A little slumber!
    A little folding of my hands to rest!”
34 Then your poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    your need like an armed bandit.

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14 As a door turns on its hinges,
    so does a sluggard on his bed.

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14 The door turns on its hinges—
    as does the lazy person on his bed.

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18 (A)Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and he who (B)guards his master will be honored.

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18 Whoever nurtures the fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and whoever obeys[a] his master will be honored.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:18 Lit. guards

23 (A)Know well the condition of your flocks,
    and (B)give attention to your herds,
24 for (C)riches do not last forever;
    and does a crown endure to all generations?
25 (D)When the grass is gone and the new growth appears
    and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,
26 (E)the lambs will provide your clothing,
    and the goats the price of a field.
27 (F)There will be enough goats' milk for your food,
    for the food of your household
    and maintenance for your girls.

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23 Keep well informed of the condition of your flocks
    and pay attention to your herds,
24 because riches don’t endure forever,
    and crowns don’t last from one generation to the next.
25 When the grass disappears,
    and new growth appears,
        the mountain spices will be harvested,
26 the lambs will supply your clothing,
    and your goats the price of a field.
27 You will have enough goat’s milk to drink
    and to supply your household needs,
        as well as sustenance for your servant girls.

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19 (A)Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
    but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

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19 Whoever works his farmland will have abundant food,
    but whoever chases fantasies will become very poor.

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