Proverbs 6:6-11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
6 Go to the ant, you lazybones;
consider its ways and be wise.(A)
7 Without having any chief
or officer or ruler,
8 it prepares its food in summer
and gathers its sustenance in harvest.(B)
9 How long will you lie there, O lazybones?
When will you rise from your sleep?(C)
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want, like an armed warrior.(D)
Proverbs 10:4-5
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
4 A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.(A)
5 A child who gathers in summer is prudent,
but a child who sleeps in harvest brings shame.(B)
Proverbs 10:26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
so are the lazy to their employers.(A)
Proverbs 12:11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
11 Those who till their land will have plenty of food,
but those who follow worthless pursuits have no sense.(A)
Proverbs 12:24
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
24 The hand of the diligent will rule,
while the lazy will be put to forced labor.
Proverbs 12:27
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 13:4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
4 The appetite of the lazy craves and gets nothing,
while the appetite of the diligent is richly supplied.(A)
Proverbs 13:11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
11 Wealth hastily gotten[a] will dwindle,
but those who gather little by little will increase it.(A)
Footnotes
- 13.11 Gk Vg: Heb from vanity
Proverbs 14:23
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
23 In all toil there is profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Proverbs 15:19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
19 The way of the lazy is overgrown with thorns,
but the path of the upright is a level highway.(A)
Proverbs 18:9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
9 One who is slack in work
is close kin to a vandal.(A)
Proverbs 19:15
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
15 Laziness brings on deep sleep;
an idle person will suffer hunger.(A)
Proverbs 19:24
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
24 The lazy person buries a hand in the dish
and will not even bring it back to the mouth.(A)
Proverbs 20:4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
4 The lazy person does not plow in season;
harvest comes, and there is nothing to be found.(A)
Proverbs 20:13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
13 Do not love sleep, or else you will come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.(A)
Proverbs 21:5
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,
but everyone who is hasty comes only to want.(A)
Proverbs 21:25
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
25 The craving of the lazy person is fatal,
for lazy hands refuse to labor.(A)
Proverbs 24:30-34
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
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.
Proverbs 26:13-16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
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.
Proverbs 28:19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
19 Anyone who tills the land will have plenty of bread,
but one who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.(A)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.