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27 Do your planning and prepare your fields
    before building your house.

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

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30 I walked by the field of a lazy person,
    the vineyard of one with no common sense.
31 I saw that it was overgrown with nettles.
    It was covered with weeds,
    and its walls were broken down.
32 Then, as I looked and thought about it,
    I learned this lesson:
33 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest—
34 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
    scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

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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)

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It is God’s privilege to conceal things
    and the king’s privilege to discover them.

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It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
    to search out a matter is the glory of kings.(A)

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13 Trustworthy messengers refresh like snow in summer.
    They revive the spirit of their employer.

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13 Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time
    is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him;
    he refreshes the spirit of his master.(A)

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13 The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road!
    Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!”

14 As a door swings back and forth on its hinges,
    so the lazy person turns over in bed.

15 Lazy people take food in their hand
    but don’t even lift it to their mouth.

16 Lazy people consider themselves smarter
    than seven wise counselors.

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13 A sluggard says,(A) “There’s a lion in the road,
    a fierce lion roaming the streets!”(B)
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
    so a sluggard turns on his bed.(C)
15 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
    he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.(D)
16 A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
    than seven people who answer discreetly.

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23 Know the state of your flocks,
    and put your heart into caring for your herds,

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23 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,(A)
    give careful attention to your herds;

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19 A hard worker has plenty of food,
    but a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty.

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

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24 There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise:
25 Ants—they aren’t strong,
    but they store up food all summer.
26 Hyraxes[a]—they aren’t powerful,
    but they make their homes among the rocks.
27 Locusts—they have no king,
    but they march in formation.
28 Lizards—they are easy to catch,
    but they are found even in kings’ palaces.

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Footnotes

  1. 30:26 Or Coneys, or Rock badgers.

24 “Four things on earth are small,
    yet they are extremely wise:
25 Ants are creatures of little strength,
    yet they store up their food in the summer;(A)
26 hyraxes(B) are creatures of little power,
    yet they make their home in the crags;
27 locusts(C) have no king,
    yet they advance together in ranks;
28 a lizard can be caught with the hand,
    yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

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