27 Complete your outdoor work, and prepare your field;(A)
afterward, 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 I went by the field of a slacker
and by the vineyard of a man lacking sense.
31 Thistles had come up everywhere,
weeds covered the ground,(A)
and the stone wall was ruined.
32 I saw, and took it to heart;
I looked, and received instruction:
33 a little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest,
34 and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit.(B)

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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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It is the glory of God to conceal a matter(A)
and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.

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It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
    and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.

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13 To those who send him, a trustworthy messenger
is like the coolness of snow on a harvest day;
he refreshes the life of his masters.(A)

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13 Like cold snow during harvest time
    is a faithful messenger to those who send him;
        he refreshes his masters.

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13 The slacker says, “There’s a lion in the road—
a lion in the public square!”(A)
14 A door turns on its hinges,
and a slacker, on his bed.(B)
15 The slacker buries his hand in the bowl;
he is too weary to bring it to his mouth.(C)
16 In his own eyes, a slacker is wiser(D)
than seven men who can answer sensibly.

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On Laziness

13 The lazy person claims, “There is a lion in the road!
    There’s a lion in the streets!”
14 The door turns on its hinges—
    as does the lazy person on his bed.
15 The lazy person buries his hand in the dish,
    but he’s too tired to bring it to his mouth again.
16 The lazy person is wiser in his own opinion
    than seven men who can give an appropriate response.

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23 Know well the condition of your flock,(A)
and pay attention to your herds,

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23 Keep well informed of the condition of your flocks
    and pay attention to your herds,

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19 The one who works his land
will have plenty of food,(A)
but whoever chases fantasies
will have his fill of poverty.(B)

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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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24 Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
25 the ants are not a strong people,
yet they store up their food in the summer;(A)
26 hyraxes are not a mighty people,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;(B)
27 locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in ranks;(C)
28 a lizard[a] can be caught in your hands,
yet it lives in kings’ palaces.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 30:28 Or spider

24 Four things on earth are small,
    but they are very, very wise:
25 Ants aren’t a strong species,[a]
    yet they prepare their food in the summer.
26 The rock badgers aren’t a strong species[b] either,
    yet they build their dens in the rocks.
27 Locusts have no king,
    but they all swarm in ranks.
28 Spiders can be caught by the hand,
    yet they’re found in kings’ palaces.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 30:25 Lit. people
  2. Proverbs 30:26 Lit. people