⁶ Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
    Learn from their ways and become wise!
⁷ Though they have no prince
    or governor or ruler to make them work,
⁸ they labor hard all summer,
    gathering food for the winter.
⁹ 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.

⁴ Lazy people are soon poor;
    hard workers get rich.

⁵ A wise youth harvests in the summer,
    but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace.

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

¹¹ A hard worker has plenty of food,
    but a person who chases fantasies has no sense.

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

²⁷ Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch,
    but the diligent make use of everything they find.

⁴ Lazy people want much but get little,
    but those who work hard will prosper.

⁴ Without oxen a stable stays clean,
    but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.

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

¹⁹ A lazy person’s way is blocked with briers,
    but the path of the upright is an open highway.