Go to the ant, you sluggard;(A)
    consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer(B)
    and gathers its food at harvest.(C)

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?(D)
    When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest(E)
11 and poverty(F) will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

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Lazy hands make for poverty,(A)
    but diligent hands bring wealth.(B)

He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son,
    but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.(C)

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26 As vinegar to the teeth and smoke(A) to the eyes,
    so are sluggards to those who send them.(B)

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11 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
    but those who chase fantasies have no sense.(A)

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24 Diligent hands will rule,
    but laziness ends in forced labor.(A)

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27 The lazy do not roast[a] any game,
    but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:27 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

A sluggard’s appetite is never filled,(A)
    but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

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Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
    but from the strength of an ox(A) come abundant harvests.

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23 All hard work brings a profit,
    but mere talk leads only to poverty.

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19 The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns,(A)
    but the path of the upright is a highway.

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26 The appetite of laborers works for them;
    their hunger drives them on.

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One who is slack in his work
    is brother to one who destroys.(A)

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15 Laziness brings on deep sleep,
    and the shiftless go hungry.(A)

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24 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
    he will not even bring it back to his mouth!(A)

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Sluggards(A) do not plow in season;
    so at harvest time they look but find nothing.(B)

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13 Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;(A)
    stay awake and you will have food to spare.

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17 Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
    whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.(A)

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25 The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him,(A)
    because his hands refuse to work.
26 All day long he craves for more,
    but the righteous(B) give without sparing.(C)

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Saying 6

29 Do you see someone skilled(A) in their work?
    They will serve(B) before kings;(C)
    they will not serve before officials of low rank.

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27 Put your outdoor work in order
    and get your fields ready;
    after that, build your house.

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30 I went past the field of a sluggard,(A)
    past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
31 thorns had come up everywhere,
    the ground was covered with weeds,
    and the stone wall was in ruins.
32 I applied my heart to what I observed
    and learned a lesson from what I saw:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest(B)
34 and poverty will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.(C)

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14 As a door turns on its hinges,
    so a sluggard turns on his bed.(A)

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18 The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit,(A)
    and whoever protects their master will be honored.(B)

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23 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,(A)
    give careful attention to your herds;
24 for riches do not endure forever,(B)
    and a crown is not secure for all generations.
25 When the hay is removed and new growth appears
    and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
26 the lambs will provide you with clothing,
    and the goats with the price of a field.
27 You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family
    and to nourish your female servants.

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19 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
    but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.(A)

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