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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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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

Lazy people are soon poor;
    hard workers get rich.

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A slack hand causes poverty,
    but the hand of the diligent enriches.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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”

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

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11 Wealth gained from haste[a] will dwindle,
    but he who gathers little by little[b] will increase it.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:11 Or “vanity”
  2. Proverbs 13:11 Literally “upon the hand”

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

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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”

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

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

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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”