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27 Prepare your work outside,
    and get your fields ready.
    Afterwards, 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 the sluggard,
    by the vineyard of the man void of understanding:
31 Behold, it was all grown over with thorns.
    Its surface was covered with nettles,
    and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw, and considered well.
    I saw, and received instruction:
33 a little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to sleep,
34 so your poverty will come as a robber
    and your want as 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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It is the glory of God to conceal a thing,
    but the glory of kings is to search out 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 As the cold of snow in the time of harvest,
    so is a faithful messenger to those who send him;
    for he refreshes the soul of his masters.

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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 sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
    A fierce lion roams the streets!”
14 As the door turns on its hinges,
    so does the sluggard on his bed.
15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish.
    He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
    than seven men who answer with discretion.

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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 state of your flocks,
    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 One who works his land will have an abundance of food;
    but one who chases fantasies will have his fill 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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24 “There are four things which are little on the earth,
    but they are exceedingly wise:
25     The ants are not a strong people,
    yet they provide their food in the summer.
26     The hyraxes are but a feeble folk,
    yet make they their houses in the rocks.
27     The locusts have no king,
    yet they advance in ranks.
28     You can catch a lizard with your hands,
    yet it is in kings’ palaces.

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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