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How long will you sleep, sluggard?
    When will you arise out of your sleep?

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How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?

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26 As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes,
    so is the sluggard to those who send him.

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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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19 The way of the sluggard is like a thorn patch,
    but the path of the upright is a highway.

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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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24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
    he will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

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24 The slacker buries his hand in the bowl;
he doesn’t even bring it back to his mouth!(A)

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The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter;
    therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.

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The slacker does not plow during planting season;[a]
at harvest time he looks,[b] and there is nothing.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 20:4 Lit plow in winter
  2. 20:4 Lit inquires

25 The desire of the sluggard kills him,
    for his hands refuse to labor.
26 There are those who covet greedily all day long;
    but the righteous give and don’t withhold.

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25 A slacker’s craving will kill him
because his hands refuse to work.(A)
26 He is filled with craving[a] all day long,
but the righteous give and don’t hold back.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 21:26 Lit He craves a craving

13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!
    I will be killed in the streets!”

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13 The slacker says, “There’s a lion outside!
I’ll be killed in the public square!” (A)

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30 I went by the field of the sluggard,
    by the vineyard of the man void of understanding:
31 Behold, it was all grown over with thorns.
    Its surface was covered with nettles,
    and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw, and considered well.
    I saw, and received instruction:
33 a little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to sleep,
34 so your poverty will come as a robber
    and your want as an armed man.

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30 I went by the field of a slacker
and by the vineyard of one lacking sense.
31 Thistles had come up everywhere,
weeds covered the ground,(A)
and the stone wall was ruined.
32 I saw, and took it to heart;
I looked, and received instruction:
33 a little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest,
34 and your poverty will come like a robber,
and your need, like a bandit.(B)

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13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
    A fierce lion roams the streets!”
14 As the door turns on its hinges,
    so does the sluggard on his bed.
15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish.
    He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
    than seven men who answer with discretion.

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13 The slacker says, “There’s a lion in the road—
a lion in the public square!” (A)
14 A door turns on its hinges,
and a slacker, on his bed.(B)
15 The slacker buries his hand in the bowl;
he is too weary to bring it to his mouth!(C)
16 In his own eyes, a slacker is wiser(D)
than seven who can answer sensibly.

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