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Go to the ant, you sluggard.
    Consider her ways, and be wise;
which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,
    provides her bread in the summer,
    and gathers her food in the harvest.
How long will you sleep, sluggard?
    When will you arise out of your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 so your poverty will come as a robber,
    and your scarcity as an armed man.

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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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He becomes poor who works with a lazy hand,
    but the hand of the diligent brings wealth.
He who gathers in summer is a wise son,
    but he who sleeps during the harvest is a son who causes shame.

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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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26 As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes,
    so is the sluggard to those who send him.

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

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11 He who tills his land shall have plenty of bread,
    but he who chases fantasies is void of understanding.

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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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24 The hands of the diligent ones shall rule,
    but laziness ends in slave labor.

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

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27 The slothful man doesn’t roast his game,
    but the possessions of diligent men are prized.

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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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The soul of the sluggard desires, and has nothing,
    but the desire of the diligent shall be fully satisfied.

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

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11 Wealth gained dishonestly dwindles away,
    but he who gathers by hand makes it grow.

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

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23 In all hard work there is profit,
    but the talk of the lips leads only to poverty.

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

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19 The way of the sluggard is like a thorn patch,
    but the path of the upright is a highway.

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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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One who is slack in his work
    is brother to him who is a master of destruction.

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

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