27 Complete your outdoor work, and prepare your field;(A)
afterward, build your house.

Read full chapter

27 Do your planning and prepare your fields
    before building your house.

Read full chapter

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)

Read full chapter

30 I walked by the field of a lazy person,
    the vineyard of one with no common sense.
31 I saw that it was overgrown with nettles.
    It was covered with weeds,
    and its walls were broken down.
32 Then, as I looked and thought about it,
    I learned this lesson:
33 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest—
34 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
    scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

Read full chapter

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter(A)
and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.

Read full chapter

It is God’s privilege to conceal things
    and the king’s privilege to discover them.

Read full chapter

13 To those who send him, a trustworthy envoy
is like the coolness of snow on a harvest day;
he refreshes the life of his masters.(A)

Read full chapter

13 Trustworthy messengers refresh like snow in summer.
    They revive the spirit of their employer.

Read full chapter

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.

Read full chapter

13 The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road!
    Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!”

14 As a door swings back and forth on its hinges,
    so the lazy person turns over in bed.

15 Lazy people take food in their hand
    but don’t even lift it to their mouth.

16 Lazy people consider themselves smarter
    than seven wise counselors.

Read full chapter

23 Know well the condition of your flock,(A)
and pay attention to your herds,

Read full chapter

23 Know the state of your flocks,
    and put your heart into caring for your herds,

Read full chapter

19 The one who works his land
will have plenty of food,(A)
but whoever chases fantasies
will have his fill of poverty.(B)

Read full chapter

19 A hard worker has plenty of food,
    but a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty.

Read full chapter

24 Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
25 ants are not a strong people,
yet they store up their food in the summer;(A)
26 hyraxes are not a mighty people,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;(B)
27 locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in ranks;(C)
28 a lizard[a] can be caught in your hands,
yet it lives in kings’ palaces.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 30:28 Or spider

24 There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise:
25 Ants—they aren’t strong,
    but they store up food all summer.
26 Hyraxes[a]—they aren’t powerful,
    but they make their homes among the rocks.
27 Locusts—they have no king,
    but they march in formation.
28 Lizards—they are easy to catch,
    but they are found even in kings’ palaces.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 30:26 Or Coneys, or Rock badgers.