Proverbs 6:6-11
New Century Version
6 Go watch the ants, you lazy person.
Watch what they do and be wise.
7 Ants have no commander,
no leader or ruler,
8 but they store up food in the summer
and gather their supplies at harvest.
9 How long will you lie there, you lazy person?
When will you get up from sleeping?
10 You sleep a little; you take a nap.
You fold your hands and lie down to rest.
11 So you will be as poor as if you had been robbed;
you will have as little as if you had been held up.
Proverbs 10:4-5
New Century Version
4 A lazy person will end up poor,
but a hard worker will become rich.
5 Those who gather crops on time are wise,
but those who sleep through the harvest are a disgrace.
Proverbs 10:26
New Century Version
26 A lazy person affects the one he works for
like vinegar on the teeth or smoke in the eyes.
Proverbs 12:11
New Century Version
11 Those who work their land will have plenty of food,
but the one who chases empty dreams is not wise.
Proverbs 12:24
New Century Version
24 Hard workers will become leaders,
but those who are lazy will be slaves.
Proverbs 12:27
New Century Version
27 The lazy catch no food to cook,
but a hard worker will have great wealth.
Proverbs 13:4
New Century Version
4 The lazy will not get what they want,
but those who work hard will.
Proverbs 14:4
New Century Version
4 When there are no oxen, no food is in the barn.
But with a strong ox, much grain can be grown.
Proverbs 14:23
New Century Version
23 Those who work hard make a profit,
but those who only talk will be poor.
Proverbs 15:19
New Century Version
19 A lazy person’s life is like a patch of thorns,
but an honest person’s life is like a smooth highway.
Proverbs 16:26
New Century Version
26 The workers’ hunger helps them,
because their desire to eat makes them work.
Proverbs 18:9
New Century Version
9 A person who doesn’t work hard
is just like someone who destroys things.
Proverbs 19:15
New Century Version
15 Lazy people sleep a lot,
and idle people will go hungry.
Proverbs 19:24
New Century Version
24 Though the lazy person puts his hand in the dish,
he won’t lift the food to his mouth.
Proverbs 20:4
New Century Version
4 Lazy farmers don’t plow when they should;
they expect a harvest, but there is none.
Proverbs 20:13
New Century Version
13 If you love to sleep, you will be poor.
If you stay awake, you will have plenty of food.
Proverbs 21:17
New Century Version
17 Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever loves wine and perfume will never be rich.
Proverbs 21:25-26
New Century Version
25 Lazy people’s desire for sleep will kill them,
because they refuse to work.
26 All day long they wish for more,
but good people give without holding back.
Proverbs 22:29
New Century Version
29 Do you see people skilled in their work?
They will work for kings, not for ordinary people.
Proverbs 24:27
New Century Version
27 First, finish your outside work
and prepare your fields.
After that, you can build your house.
Proverbs 24:30-34
New Century Version
30 I passed by a lazy person’s field
and by the vineyard of someone with no sense.
31 Thorns had grown up everywhere.
The ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone walls had fallen down.
32 I thought about what I had seen;
I learned this lesson from what I saw.
33 You sleep a little; you take a nap.
You fold your hands and lie down to rest.
34 Soon you will be as poor as if you had been robbed;
you will have as little as if you had been held up.
Proverbs 26:14
New Century Version
14 Like a door turning back and forth on its hinges,
the lazy person turns over and over in bed.
Proverbs 27:18
New Century Version
18 Whoever tends a fig tree gets to eat its fruit,
and whoever takes care of his master will receive honor.
Proverbs 27:23-27
New Century Version
23 Be sure you know how your sheep are doing,
and pay attention to the condition of your cattle.
24 Riches will not go on forever,
nor do governments go on forever.
25 Bring in the hay, and let the new grass appear.
Gather the grass from the hills.
26 Make clothes from the lambs’ wool,
and sell some goats to buy a field.
27 There will be plenty of goat’s milk
to feed you and your family
and to make your servant girls healthy.
Proverbs 28:19
New Century Version
19 Those who work their land will have plenty of food,
but the ones who chase empty dreams instead will end up poor.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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