(A)Go to (B)the ant, O (C)sluggard;
    consider her ways, and (D)be wise.
(E)Without having any chief,
    (F)officer, or ruler,
she prepares her bread (G)in summer
    and (H)gathers her food in harvest.
(I)How long will you lie there, (J)O sluggard?
    When will you arise from your sleep?
10 (K)A little sleep, a little slumber,
    (L)a little (M)folding of the hands to rest,
11 (N)and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

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A slack hand (A)causes poverty,
    (B)but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
He who (C)gathers in summer is a prudent son,
    but he who sleeps in harvest is (D)a son who brings shame.

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26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
    so is the sluggard to those who send him.

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11 (A)Whoever works his land (B)will have plenty of bread,
    (C)but he who follows (D)worthless pursuits lacks sense.

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24 (A)The hand of the diligent will rule,
    while the slothful will be (B)put to forced labor.

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27 (A)Whoever is slothful will not roast his game,
    but the diligent man will get precious wealth.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:27 Or but diligence is precious wealth

(A)The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
    while the soul of the diligent (B)is richly supplied.

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Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
    but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

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23 In all toil there is profit,
    but mere talk (A)tends only to poverty.

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19 The way of (A)a sluggard is like a hedge of (B)thorns,
    but the path of the upright is (C)a level highway.

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26 A worker's appetite works for him;
    his (A)mouth urges him on.

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Whoever is slack in his work
    is a (A)brother to him who destroys.

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15 (A)Slothfulness casts into (B)a deep sleep,
    and (C)an idle person will suffer hunger.

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24 (A)The sluggard buries his hand in (B)the dish
    and will not even bring it back to his mouth.

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(A)The sluggard does not plow in the autumn;
    (B)he will seek at harvest and have nothing.

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13 (A)Love not sleep, lest you (B)come to poverty;
    open your eyes, and you will have (C)plenty of bread.

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17 Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;
    he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

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25 The desire of (A)the sluggard kills him,
    for his hands refuse to labor.
26 All day long he craves and craves,
    but the righteous (B)gives and does not hold back.

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29 Do you see a man skillful in his work?
    He will (A)stand before kings;
    he will not stand before obscure men.

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27 (A)Prepare your work outside;
    get everything ready for yourself in the field,
    and after that build your house.

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30 (A)I passed by the field of a sluggard,
    by the vineyard of a man (B)lacking sense,
31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
    the ground was covered with nettles,
    and its stone (C)wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw and (D)considered it;
    I looked and received instruction.
33 (E)A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

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14 As a door turns on its hinges,
    so does a sluggard on his bed.

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18 (A)Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and he who (B)guards his master will be honored.

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23 (A)Know well the condition of your flocks,
    and (B)give attention to your herds,
24 for (C)riches do not last forever;
    and does a crown endure to all generations?
25 (D)When the grass is gone and the new growth appears
    and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,
26 (E)the lambs will provide your clothing,
    and the goats the price of a field.
27 (F)There will be enough goats' milk for your food,
    for the food of your household
    and maintenance for your girls.

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19 (A)Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
    but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

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