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27 Prepare your work outside,
    and get your fields ready.
    Afterwards, 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 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 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 a thing,
    but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

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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 As the cold of snow in the time of harvest,
    so is a faithful messenger to those who send him;
    for he refreshes the soul of his masters.

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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 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 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 state of your flocks,
    and pay attention to your herds:

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

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19 One who works his land will have an abundance of food;
    but one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.

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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 “There are four things which are little on the earth,
    but they are exceedingly wise:
25     The ants are not a strong people,
    yet they provide their food in the summer.
26     The hyraxes are but a feeble folk,
    yet make they their houses in the rocks.
27     The locusts have no king,
    yet they advance in ranks.
28     You can catch a lizard with your hands,
    yet it is in kings’ palaces.

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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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