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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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Go to the (A)ant, O (B)sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,
Which, having (C)no chief,
Officer or ruler,
Prepares her food (D)in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.
How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 (E)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to [a]rest”—
11 (F)Your poverty will come in like [b]a vagabond
And your want like [c]an armed man.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:10 Lit lie down
  2. Proverbs 6:11 Lit one who walks
  3. Proverbs 6:11 Lit a man with a shield

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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Poor is he who works with a slack [a]hand,
But the (A)hand of the diligent makes rich.
He who gathers in summer is a son who acts insightfully,
But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:4 Lit palm

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

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26 Like vinegar to the teeth and like smoke to the eyes,
So is the (A)sluggard to those who send him.

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

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11 He (A)who cultivates his land will be satisfied with bread,
But he who pursues empty things lacks a heart of wisdom.

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

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24 The hand of the diligent will rule,
But [a]the slack hand will be (A)put to forced labor.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:24 Lit slackness

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 A slack handed man does not [a]roast his prey,
But the wealth of a man is (A)precious for the diligent.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:27 Or catch

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

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The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
But the soul of the diligent is enriched.

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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 obtained from empty effort dwindles,
But the one who gathers [a]with his hand abounds.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:11 Or gradually

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

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23 In all painful labor there is profit,
But mere words from the lips lead only to want.

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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 way of the sluggard is as a hedge of thorns,
But the path of the upright is a highway.

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

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He also who is (A)slack in his work
(B)Is brother to him who destroys.

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