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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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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 people are soon poor;
    hard workers get rich.

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

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

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

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

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

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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 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.

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

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

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

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11 Dishonest money dwindles away,(A)
    but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.

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

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

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

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

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