Go to the ant, you sluggard;(A)
    consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer(B)
    and gathers its food at harvest.(C)

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?(D)
    When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest(E)
11 and poverty(F) will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

Read full chapter

Go to the ant, you lazy person;
    observe its ways and grow wise.
The ant has no commander, officer, or ruler.
    Even so, it gets its food in summer;
    gathers its provisions at harvest.
How long, lazy person, will you lie down?
    When will you rise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the arms to lie down—
11     and poverty will come on you like a prowler,
        destitution like a warrior.

Read full chapter

Lazy hands make for poverty,(A)
    but diligent hands bring wealth.(B)

He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son,
    but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.(C)

Read full chapter

Laziness brings poverty;
    hard work makes one rich.
A wise son harvests in the summer;
    a disgraceful son sleeps right through the harvest.

Read full chapter

26 As vinegar to the teeth and smoke(A) to the eyes,
    so are sluggards to those who send them.(B)

Read full chapter

26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
    so are lazy people to those who authorize them.

Read full chapter

11 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
    but those who chase fantasies have no sense.(A)

Read full chapter

11 Those who work their land will have plenty to eat,
    but those who engage in empty pursuits have no sense.

Read full chapter

24 Diligent hands will rule,
    but laziness ends in forced labor.(A)

Read full chapter

24 A hard worker is in charge,
    while a lazy one will be sentenced to hard labor.

Read full chapter

27 The lazy do not roast[a] any game,
    but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:27 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

27 The lazy don’t roast[a] their prey,
    but hard workers receive precious riches.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:27 Heb uncertain

A sluggard’s appetite is never filled,(A)
    but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

Read full chapter

The lazy have strong desires but receive nothing;
    the appetite of the diligent is satisfied.

Read full chapter

11 Dishonest money dwindles away,(A)
    but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.

Read full chapter

11 Riches gotten quickly[a] will dwindle,
    but those who acquire them gradually become wealthy.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:11 LXX; MT from meaninglessness

23 All hard work brings a profit,
    but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Read full chapter

23 There is profit in hard work,
    but mere talk leads to poverty.

Read full chapter

19 The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns,(A)
    but the path of the upright is a highway.

Read full chapter

19 The path of the lazy is like a hedge of thorns,
    but the way of those who do right is a clear road.

Read full chapter

One who is slack in his work
    is brother to one who destroys.(A)

Read full chapter

Those who are lazy in their work
    are brothers to thugs.

Read full chapter