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,
11 and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit.(D)

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

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

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Lazy people are soon poor;
    hard workers get rich.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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11 Wealth obtained by fraud will dwindle,(A)
but whoever earns it through labor[a] will multiply it.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 13:11 Lit whoever gathers upon his hand

11 Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears;
    wealth from hard work grows over time.

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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. 14:4 Or clean

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

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

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

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Footnotes

  1. 16:26 Lit mouth

26 It is good for workers to have an appetite;
    an empty stomach drives them on.

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