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

Read full chapter

15 Laziness will bring on a deep sleep,
    and a person[a] of idleness will suffer hunger.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:15 Or “soul,” or “life”

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

Read full chapter

24 A lazy person buries his hand in the dish,
    and even to his mouth he will not bring it back.

Read full chapter

Sluggards(A) do not plow in season;
    so at harvest time they look but find nothing.(B)

Read full chapter

The lazy person will not plow in season;
    he will expect at the harvest, but there will be nothing.

Read full chapter

13 Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;(A)
    stay awake and you will have food to spare.

Read full chapter

13 Do not love sleep, lest you become poor;
    open your eyes and have plenty bread.

Read full chapter

17 Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
    whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.(A)

Read full chapter

17 A man of want is he who loves pleasure;
    he who loves wine and oil[a] will not become rich.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:17 Or “fat”

25 The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him,(A)
    because his hands refuse to work.
26 All day long he craves for more,
    but the righteous(B) give without sparing.(C)

Read full chapter

25 The craving of a lazy person will kill him,
    for his hands refuse to work.[a]
26 All day[b] he craves a craving,
    but the righteous will give and not hold back.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:25 Or “make”
  2. Proverbs 21:26 Literally “All the day”

Saying 6

29 Do you see someone skilled(A) in their work?
    They will serve(B) before kings;(C)
    they will not serve before officials of low rank.

Read full chapter

29 A man who is skillful in his work, you shall see:
    before kings, he will serve;
    he will not serve before the commoners.

Read full chapter

27 Put your outdoor work in order
    and get your fields ready;
    after that, build your house.

Read full chapter

27 Prepare your work in the street and get it ready for yourself in the field;
    afterward, then[a] you shall build your house.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 24:27 Hebrew “and”

30 I went past the field of a sluggard,(A)
    past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
31 thorns had come up everywhere,
    the ground was covered with weeds,
    and the stone wall was in ruins.
32 I applied my heart to what I observed
    and learned a lesson from what I saw:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest(B)
34 and poverty will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.(C)

Read full chapter

30 I passed by the field of a lazy person,
    and over the vineyard of a person lacking sense;[a]
31 and behold, it was overgrown—all of it was covered with thorns, its surface with nettles,
    and its stone wall[b] was broken down.
32 Then I myself saw and my heart[c] considered;
    I looked, and I took hold of instruction:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands for rest,
34 and your poverty will come running,
    and your lack like an armed warrior.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 24:30 Literally “heart”
  2. Proverbs 24:31 Literally “a wall of his/its stones”
  3. Proverbs 24:32 Or “mind”

14 As a door turns on its hinges,
    so a sluggard turns on his bed.(A)

Read full chapter

14 The door turns on its hinge,
    and a lazy person on his bed.

Read full chapter

18 The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit,(A)
    and whoever protects their master will be honored.(B)

Read full chapter

18 He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and he who guards his master[a] will be honored.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:18 Or “lord”

23 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,(A)
    give careful attention to your herds;
24 for riches do not endure forever,(B)
    and a crown is not secure for all generations.
25 When the hay is removed and new growth appears
    and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
26 the lambs will provide you with clothing,
    and the goats with the price of a field.
27 You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family
    and to nourish your female servants.

Read full chapter

23 You will surely know the condition[a] of your flock;
    your heart[b] attends to the herds.
24 For riches are not forever,
    nor a crown for generation after generation.
25 When the grass is gone, then green growth will appear,
    and the herbs of the mountains will be gathered.
26 Lambs will be your clothing,
    and goats the price of the field.
27 And there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
    for the food of your household and the nourishment[c] of your maidservants.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:23 Literally “faces”
  2. Proverbs 27:23 Or “mind”
  3. Proverbs 27:27 Literally “life”

19 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
    but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.(A)

Read full chapter

19 He who tills his ground will have plenty bread,
    but he who follows fantasies will have plenty of poverty.

Read full chapter