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Against Sloth

Go to the ant, lazy!
    Consider its ways and be wise.
It has no chief,
    officer, or ruler.
In the summer, it prepares its food;
    in the harvest, it gathers its sustenance.
How long will you lie down, lazy?
    When will you rise up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands for rest—
11 like a robber[a] shall your poverty come,
    and what you lack like an armed man.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:11 Literally “one who walks,” that is, a vagabond

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.

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A slack hand causes poverty,
    but the hand of the diligent enriches.
He who gathers in the summer is a child who is prudent;
    he who sleeps at the harvest is a child who brings shame.

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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)

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26 Like vinegar to the tooth and like smoke to the eyes,
    thus is the lazy to one who employs[a] him.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:26 Or “sends”

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

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11 He who works his land will have plenty of food,
    but he who follows worthless things lacks sense.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:11 Literally “heart”

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

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24 The hand of the diligent ones will rule,
    but the lazy will belong to forced labor.

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

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27 The lazy will not roast his game,
    but diligence is the precious wealth of a man.

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

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Footnotes

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

The soul[a] of the lazy craves, but there is nothing,
    but the person of diligence is richly supplied.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:4 Or “life”

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

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When there are no[a] oxen the manger is empty,
    but an abundance of crops comes by the strength of an ox.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:4 Literally “In there is no”
  2. Proverbs 14:4 Hebrew “bull”

Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
    but from the strength of an ox(A) come abundant harvests.

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23 In all toil, there is profit,
    but the talk[a] of lips leads only to poverty.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:23 Literally “word, matter, thing”

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

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19 The way of the lazy is like a hedge of thorns,[a]
    but the path of the upright is a highway.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:19 Hebrew “thorn”

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

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26 The life[a] of a worker works for him,
    for his hunger[b] urges him.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 16:26 Or “soul,” or “inner self”
  2. Proverbs 16:26 Literally “mouth”

26 The appetite of laborers works for them;
    their hunger drives them on.

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Even he who is slack in his work,
    he is brother to a master[a] of destruction.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 18:9 Or “owner”

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

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