Add parallel Print Page Options

Go to the ant, O sluggard;
    consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief,
    officer or ruler,
she prepares her food in summer,
    and gathers her sustenance in harvest.
How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
    When will you arise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
11 and poverty will come upon you like a vagabond,
    and want like an armed man.

Read full chapter

A slack hand causes poverty,
    but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
A son who gathers in summer is prudent,
    but a son who sleeps in harvest brings shame.

Read full chapter

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

Read full chapter

11 He who tills his land will have plenty of bread,
    but he who follows worthless pursuits has no sense.

Read full chapter

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

Read full chapter

27 A slothful man will not catch his prey,[a]
    but the diligent man will get precious wealth.[b]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:27 Cn Compare Gk Syr: The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  2. Proverbs 12:27 Cn: The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

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

Read full chapter

Where there are no oxen, there is no[a] grain;
    but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:4 Cn: Heb a manger of

23 In all toil there is profit,
    but mere talk tends only to want.

Read full chapter

19 The way of a sluggard is overgrown with thorns,
    but the path of the upright is a level highway.

Read full chapter

26 A worker’s appetite works for him;
    his mouth urges him on.

Read full chapter

He who is slack in his work
    is a brother to him who destroys.

Read full chapter

15 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep,
    and an idle person will suffer hunger.

Read full chapter

24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish,
    and will not even bring it back to his mouth.

Read full chapter

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

Read full chapter

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

Read full chapter

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

Read full chapter

25 The desire of the sluggard kills him
    for his hands refuse to labor.
26 All day long the wicked covets,[a]
    but the righteous gives and does not hold back.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:26 Gk: Heb all day long he covets covetously

29 Do you see a man skilful in his work?
    he will stand before kings;
    he will not stand before obscure men.

Read full chapter

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

Read full chapter

30 I passed by the field of a sluggard,
    by the vineyard of a man without sense;
31 and lo, 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,
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

Read full chapter

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

Read full chapter

18 He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and he who guards his master will be honored.

Read full chapter

23 Know well the condition of your flocks,
    and give attention to your herds;
24 for riches do not last for ever;
    and does a crown endure to all generations?
25 When the grass is gone, and the new growth appears,
    and the herbage of the mountains is gathered,
26 the lambs will provide your clothing,
    and the goats the price of a field;
27 there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
    for the food of your household
    and maintenance for your maidens.

Read full chapter

19 He who tills his land will have plenty of bread,
    but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

Read full chapter

Bible Gateway Recommends