(A)Go to (B)the ant, O (C)sluggard;
    consider her ways, and (D)be wise.
(E)Without having any chief,
    (F)officer, or ruler,
she prepares her bread (G)in summer
    and (H)gathers her food in harvest.
(I)How long will you lie there, (J)O sluggard?
    When will you arise from your sleep?
10 (K)A little sleep, a little slumber,
    (L)a little (M)folding of the hands to rest,
11 (N)and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

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Go to the ant, you lazybones;
    consider its ways and be wise.(A)
Without having any chief
    or officer or ruler,
it prepares its food in summer
    and gathers its sustenance in harvest.(B)
How long will you lie there, O lazybones?
    When will you rise from your sleep?(C)
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want, like an armed warrior.(D)

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A slack hand (A)causes poverty,
    (B)but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
He who (C)gathers in summer is a prudent son,
    but he who sleeps in harvest is (D)a son who brings shame.

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A slack hand causes poverty,
    but the hand of the diligent makes rich.(A)
A child who gathers in summer is prudent,
    but a child who sleeps in harvest brings shame.(B)

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

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26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
    so are the lazy to their employers.(A)

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11 (A)Whoever works his land (B)will have plenty of bread,
    (C)but he who follows (D)worthless pursuits lacks sense.

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11 Those who till their land will have plenty of food,
    but those who follow worthless pursuits have no sense.(A)

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24 (A)The hand of the diligent will rule,
    while the slothful will be (B)put to forced labor.

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24 The hand of the diligent will rule,
    while the lazy will be put to forced labor.

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27 (A)Whoever is slothful will not roast his game,
    but the diligent man will get precious wealth.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:27 Or but diligence is precious wealth

27 The lazy do not roast[a] their game,
    but the diligent obtain precious wealth.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 12.27 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 12.27 Meaning of Heb uncertain

(A)The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
    while the soul of the diligent (B)is richly supplied.

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The appetite of the lazy craves and gets nothing,
    while the appetite of the diligent is richly supplied.(A)

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Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
    but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

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Where there are no oxen, there is no grain;
    abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

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23 In all toil there is profit,
    but mere talk (A)tends only to poverty.

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23 In all toil there is profit,
    but mere talk leads only to poverty.

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19 The way of (A)a sluggard is like a hedge of (B)thorns,
    but the path of the upright is (C)a level highway.

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19 The way of the lazy is overgrown with thorns,
    but the path of the upright is a level highway.(A)

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26 A worker's appetite works for him;
    his (A)mouth urges him on.

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26 The appetite of workers works for them;
    their hunger urges them on.

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Whoever is slack in his work
    is a (A)brother to him who destroys.

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One who is slack in work
    is close kin to a vandal.(A)

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