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Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
    Learn from their ways and become wise!
Though they have no prince
    or governor or ruler to make them work,
they labor hard all summer,
    gathering food for the winter.
But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?
    When will you wake up?
10 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest—
11 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
    scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

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The Folly of Laziness

Go to the ant, you lazy man!
    Observe its ways and become wise.
It has no commander,
    officer, or ruler,
but prepares its provisions in the summer
    and gathers its food in the harvest.
How long will you lie down, lazy man?
    When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
11 and your poverty will come on you like a bandit
    and your desperation like an armed man.

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Lazy people are soon poor;
    hard workers get rich.

A wise youth harvests in the summer,
    but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace.

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Lazy hands bring poverty,
    but hard-working hands lead to wealth.
Whoever harvests during summer acts wisely,
    but the son who sleeps during harvest is disgraceful.

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26 Lazy people irritate their employers,
    like vinegar to the teeth or smoke in the eyes.

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26 As vinegar is to the mouth[a] and smoke to the eyes,
    so is the lazy person to those who send him.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:26 Lit. teeth

11 A hard worker has plenty of food,
    but a person who chases fantasies has no sense.

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11 Whoever tills his soil will have a lot to eat,
    but anyone who pursues fantasies lacks sense.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:11 Lit. heart

24 Work hard and become a leader;
    be lazy and become a slave.

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24 The diligent will take control,
    but the lazy will be put to forced labor.

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27 Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch,
    but the diligent make use of everything they find.

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27 The lazy person does not roast what he has hunted,
    but diligence is one’s most important possession.

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Lazy people want much but get little,
    but those who work hard will prosper.

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The lazy person craves, yet receives nothing,
    but the desires of the diligent are satisfied.

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11 Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears;
    wealth from hard work grows over time.

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11 Wealth gained dishonestly dwindles away,
    but whoever works diligently increases his prosperity.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:11 The Heb. lacks his prosperity

23 Work brings profit,
    but mere talk leads to poverty!

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23 In hard work there is always profit,
    but too much chattering[a] leads to poverty.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:23 Lit. word of lips

19 A lazy person’s way is blocked with briers,
    but the path of the upright is an open highway.

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19 The lifestyle of the lazy is like a thorny hedge,
    but the path taken by the upright is an open highway.

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A lazy person is as bad as
    someone who destroys things.

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Avoiding Fools and Their Foolishness

Whoever is lazy regarding his work
    is also a brother to the master of destruction.

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