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Go to the ant, you lazybones;
    consider its ways and be wise.(A)
Without having any chief
    or officer or ruler,
it prepares its food in summer
    and gathers its sustenance in harvest.(B)
How long will you lie there, O lazybones?
    When will you rise from your sleep?(C)
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want, like an armed warrior.(D)

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A slack hand causes poverty,
    but the hand of the diligent makes rich.(A)

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A child who gathers in summer is prudent,
    but a child who sleeps in harvest brings shame.(A)

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26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
    so are the lazy to their employers.(A)

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11 Those who till their land will have plenty of food,
    but those who follow worthless pursuits have no sense.(A)

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24 The hand of the diligent will rule,
    while the lazy will be put to forced labor.

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27 The lazy do not roast[a] their game,
    but the diligent obtain precious wealth.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 12.27 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 12.27 Meaning of Heb uncertain

The appetite of the lazy craves and gets nothing,
    while the appetite of the diligent is richly supplied.(A)

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11 Wealth hastily gotten[a] will dwindle,
    but those who gather little by little will increase it.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 13.11 Gk Vg: Heb from vanity

Where there are no oxen, there is no grain;
    abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

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19 The way of the lazy is overgrown with thorns,
    but the path of the upright is a level highway.(A)

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26 The appetite of workers works for them;
    their hunger urges them on.

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A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully
    and will share the inheritance as one of the family.(A)

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One who is slack in work
    is close kin to a vandal.(A)

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15 Laziness brings on deep sleep;
    an idle person will suffer hunger.(A)

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24 The lazy person buries a hand in the dish
    and will not even bring it back to the mouth.(A)

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The lazy person does not plow in season;
    harvest comes, and there is nothing to be found.(A)

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13 Do not love sleep, or else you will come to poverty;
    open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.(A)

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The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,
    but everyone who is hasty comes only to want.(A)

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17 Whoever loves pleasure will suffer want;
    whoever loves wine and oil will not be rich.

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25 The craving of the lazy person is fatal,
    for lazy hands refuse to labor.(A)
26 All day long the wicked covet,[a]
    but the righteous give and do not hold back.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 21.26 Gk: Heb all day long one covets covetously

13 The lazy person says, “There is a lion outside!
    I shall be killed in the streets!”(A)

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29 Do you see those who are skillful in their work?
    They will serve kings;
    they will not serve common people.(A)

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10 If you faint in the day of adversity,
    your strength being small;(A)

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