Laziness

Go to the ant,(A) you slacker!(B)
Observe its ways and become wise.
Without leader, administrator, or ruler,
it prepares its provisions in summer;
it gathers its food during harvest.(C)
How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest,(D)
11 and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit.(E)

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Against Sloth

Go to the ant, lazy!
    Consider its ways and be wise.
It has no chief,
    officer, or ruler.
In the summer, it prepares its food;
    in the harvest, it gathers its sustenance.
How long will you lie down, lazy?
    When will you rise up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands for rest—
11 like a robber[a] shall your poverty come,
    and what you lack like an armed man.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:11 Literally “one who walks,” that is, a vagabond

Idle hands make one poor,
but diligent hands bring riches.(A)

The son who gathers during summer is prudent;
the son who sleeps during harvest is disgraceful.(B)

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A slack hand causes poverty,
    but the hand of the diligent enriches.
He who gathers in the summer is a child who is prudent;
    he who sleeps at the harvest is a child who brings shame.

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26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,(A)
so the slacker is to the one who sends him on an errand.

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26 Like vinegar to the tooth and like smoke to the eyes,
    thus is the lazy to one who employs[a] him.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:26 Or “sends”

11 The one who works his land will have plenty of food,(A)
but whoever chases fantasies lacks sense.(B)

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11 He who works his land will have plenty of food,
    but he who follows worthless things lacks sense.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:11 Literally “heart”

24 The diligent hand will rule,
but laziness will lead to forced labor.(A)

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24 The hand of the diligent ones will rule,
    but the lazy will belong to forced labor.

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27 A lazy man doesn’t roast his game,(A)
but to a diligent man, his wealth is precious.(B)

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27 The lazy will not roast his game,
    but diligence is the precious wealth of a man.

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The slacker craves, yet has nothing,
but the diligent is fully satisfied.(A)

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The soul[a] of the lazy craves, but there is nothing,
    but the person of diligence is richly supplied.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:4 Or “life”

Where there are no oxen, the feeding trough is empty,[a]
but an abundant harvest comes
through the strength of an ox.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:4 Or clean

When there are no[a] oxen the manger is empty,
    but an abundance of crops comes by the strength of an ox.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:4 Literally “In there is no”
  2. Proverbs 14:4 Hebrew “bull”

23 There is profit in all hard work,
but endless talk[a] leads only to poverty.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:23 Lit but word of lips

23 In all toil, there is profit,
    but the talk[a] of lips leads only to poverty.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:23 Literally “word, matter, thing”

19 A slacker’s way is like a thorny hedge,
but the path of the upright is a highway.(A)

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19 The way of the lazy is like a hedge of thorns,[a]
    but the path of the upright is a highway.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:19 Hebrew “thorn”

26 A worker’s appetite works for him
because his hunger[a] urges him on.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 16:26 Lit mouth

26 The life[a] of a worker works for him,
    for his hunger[b] urges him.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 16:26 Or “soul,” or “inner self”
  2. Proverbs 16:26 Literally “mouth”

The one who is truly lazy in his work
is brother to a vandal.[a](A)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 18:9 Lit master of destruction

Even he who is slack in his work,
    he is brother to a master[a] of destruction.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 18:9 Or “owner”