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Take a lesson from the ant, you who love leisure and ease.
    Observe how it works, and dare to be just as wise.
It has no boss,
    no one laying down the law or telling it what to do,
Yet it gathers its food through summer
    and takes what it needs from the harvest.
How long do you plan to lounge your life away, you lazy fool?
    Will you ever get out of bed?
10 You say, “A little sleep, a little rest,
    a few more minutes, a nice little nap.”
11 But soon poverty will be on top of you like a robber;
    need will assault you like a well-armed warrior.

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A slack hand produces nothing but poverty,
    but an industrious hand soon takes hold of riches.
A wise son stores up for the winter months while it is still summer,
    but a shameful son lies around even during the harvest.

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26 As vinegar vexes the teeth, and as smoke irritates the eyes,
    so a slacker annoys his boss.

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A person in a positive relationship with God stands in a right relationship with His creation. How we treat animals may mirror our souls—not just the pets in our home, but the pets in our neighborhood and the animals in our food supply. One who is truly right with God considers the needs of His creatures.

11 Whoever works the land will have more than enough food,
    but whoever follows empty pursuits lacks sense.

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24 The hand of the hard workers will one day rule,
    and slackers will be forced to labor.

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27 Slackers don’t take time to cook their food,[a]
    but hard workers prize everything they have.

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Footnotes

  1. 12:27 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

Slackers crave but have their fill of nothing,
    but the hardworking desire and are completely satisfied.

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11 Money earned hastily is easily lost,
    but hard-earned money continues to grow.

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23 Prosperity comes from hard work,
    but talking too much leads to great scarcity.

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19 Lazy people walk a path overgrown with thornbushes,
    but those with integrity travel a wide, level road.

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Those who slack off at work
    are no different from vandals.

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15 Laziness lulls people into a deep sleep;
    a slacker will have nothing to eat.

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24 Some people are so lazy—they reach for food on the plate
    but lack the will to bring it up to their mouths.

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A slacker procrastinates when it is time to plow;
    so when it’s time for harvest, there are no crops in the field.

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13 Do not fall in love with sleep, or you will awake a poor person.
    Stay awake, get to work, and you will have more than enough food.

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A well-thought-out plan will work to your advantage,
    but hasty actions will cost you dearly.

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25 What slackers crave will surely kill them
    because they refuse to work.

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30 Once I passed by the property of a slacker,
    by the vineyard of a foolish man.
31 You should have seen it! The entire field was overgrown with thorns.
    Every inch was covered with weeds.
    Even the stone wall was crumbling down.
32 I took a moment to take it all in.
    The scene taught me:
33 “A little sleep, a little rest,
    a few more minutes, a nice little nap.”
34 But soon poverty will be on top of you like a robber,
    need will strike you down like a well-armed warrior.

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13 A lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the road!
    A lion in the streets!
    Another good reason to stay in today.
14 As a door swings on its hinges and goes nowhere,
    so a slacker turns over in his bed.
15 Some people are so lazy that they reach for food on the plate
    but lack the will to bring it up to their mouths.
16 The slacker sees himself as wiser by far
    than seven men who can converse intelligently.

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19 Whoever cultivates his land will have plenty of food in the harvest,
    but whoever cultivates worthless ventures will have poverty in abundance.

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