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27 Prepare your work outside;
    get everything ready for you in the field;
    and after that build your house.

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27 Get your outside work done;
    make preparations in the field;
    then you can build your house.

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30 I passed by the field of one who was lazy,
    by the vineyard of a stupid person,(A)
31 and see, it was all overgrown with thorns;
    the ground was covered with nettles,
    and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw and considered it;
    I looked and received instruction.
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,(B)
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want, like an armed warrior.

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30 I happened upon the field of a lazy person,
    by the vineyard of one with no sense.
31 Thorns grew all over it;
    weeds covered the ground,
    and the stone wall was falling down.
32 I observed this and took it to heart;
    I saw it and learned a lesson.
33 “A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little lying down with folded arms”—
34     and poverty will come on you like a prowler,
    deprivation like a man with a shield.

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It is the glory of God to conceal things,
    but the glory of kings is to search things out.(A)

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It is the glory of God to hide something
    and the glory of kings to discover something.

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13 Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
    are faithful messengers to those who send them;
    they refresh the spirit of their masters.(A)

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13 Like the coolness of snow on a harvest day
    are reliable messengers to those who send them;
    they restore the life of their master.

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13 The lazy person says, “There is a lion in the road!
    There is a lion in the streets!”(A)
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
    so does a lazy person in bed.
15 The lazy person buries a hand in the dish
    and is too tired to bring it back to the mouth.(B)
16 The lazy person is wiser in self-esteem
    than seven who can answer discreetly.

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13 A lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the path!
    A lion in the plazas!”
14 As a door turns on its hinge,
    so do lazy people in their beds.
15 Lazy people bury their hand into the bowl,
    too tired to return it to their mouth.
16 Lazy people think they are wiser
    than seven people who answer sensibly.

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23 Know well the condition of your flocks,
    and give attention to your herds,

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23 Know your flock well;
    pay attention to your herds,

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19 Anyone who tills the land will have plenty of bread,
    but one who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.(A)

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19 Those who work the land will have plenty to eat,
    but those with worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

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24 Four things on earth are small,
    yet they are exceedingly wise:
25 the ants are a people without strength,
    yet they provide their food in the summer;(A)
26 the badgers are a people without power,
    yet they make their homes in the rocks;(B)
27 the locusts have no king,
    yet all of them march in rank;
28 the lizard[a] can be grasped in the hand,
    yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

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Footnotes

  1. 30.28 Or spider

24 Four things are among the smallest on earth,
    but they are extremely wise:
25     Ants as creatures aren’t strong,
            but they store away their food in the summer.
26     Badgers as creatures aren’t powerful,
            but they make their homes in the rocks.
27     Locusts don’t have a king,
            but they march together in ranks.
28     You can catch lizards in your hand,
            but they are in kings’ palaces.

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