Hebrews 5:11

The Need to Move on to Maturity

5:11 On this topic we have much to say ¹  and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish ²  in hearing.

Proverbs 12:24

12:24 The diligent ³  person ⁴  will rule,

but the slothful ⁵  will become a slave. ⁶ 

Proverbs 13:4

13:4 The appetite ⁷  of the sluggard ⁸  craves ⁹  but gets nothing,

but the desire of the diligent will be abundantly satisfied. ¹⁰ 

Proverbs 15:19

15:19 The way of the sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, ¹¹ 

but the path of the upright is like ¹²  a highway. ¹³ 

Proverbs 18:9

18:9 The one who ¹⁴  is slack ¹⁵  in his work

is a brother ¹⁶  to one who destroys. ¹⁷ 

Proverbs 24:30-34

24:30 I passed by the field of a sluggard,

by the vineyard of one who lacks wisdom. ¹⁸ 

24:31 I saw ¹⁹  that thorns had grown up all over it,

the ground ²⁰  was covered with weeds,

and its stone wall was broken down.

24:32 When I saw this, I gave careful consideration to it; ²¹ 

I received instruction from what I saw: ²² 

24:33 “A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to relax,

24:34 and your poverty will come like a bandit,

and your need like an armed robber.” ²³ 

Matthew 25:26

25:26 But his master answered, ²⁴  ‘Evil and lazy slave! So you knew that I harvest where I didn’t sow and gather where I didn’t scatter?

Romans 12:11

12:11 Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord.

Romans 12:2

12:2 Do not be conformed ²⁵  to this present world, ²⁶  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ²⁷  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Romans 1:10

1:10 and I always ask ²⁸  in my prayers, if perhaps now at last I may succeed in visiting you according to the will of God. ²⁹ 

[5:11]  ¹ tn Grk “concerning which the message for us is great.”

[5:11]  ² tn Or “dull.”

[12:24]  ³ tn The term חָרַץ (kharats, “diligent”) means (1) literally: “to cut; to sharpen,” (2) figurative: “to decide” and “to be diligent. It is used figuratively in Proverbs for diligence. The semantic development of the figure may be understood thus: “cut, sharpen” leads to “act decisively” which leads to “be diligent.” By their diligent work they succeed to management. The diligent rise to the top, while the lazy sink to the bottom.

[12:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “the hand of the diligent.” The term “hand” is a synecdoche of part (= hand) for the whole (= person): diligent person. The hand is emphasized because it is the instrument of physical labor; it signifies the actions and the industry of a diligent person – what his hand does.

[12:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “deceitful.” The term refers to one who is not diligent; this person tries to deceive his master about his work, which he has neglected.

[12:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “will be for slave labor.” The term מַס (mas, “slave labor”) refers to a person forced into labor from slavery.

[13:4]  ⁷ tn The noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, traditionally “soul”) has a broad range of meanings, and here denotes “appetite” (e.g., Ps 17:9; Prov 23:3; Eccl 2:24; Isa 5:14; Hab 2:5; BDB 660 s.v. 5.c) or (2) “desire” (e.g., Deut 12:20; Prov 19:8; 21:10; BDB 660 s.v. 6.a).

[13:4]  ⁸ sn The contrast is between the “soul (= appetite) of the sluggard” (נַפְשׁוֹ עָצֵל, nafsho ’atsel) and the “soul (= desire) of the diligent” (נֶפֶשׁ חָרֻצִים, nefesh kharutsim) – what they each long for.

[13:4]  ⁹ tn The Hitpael verb means “to lust after; to crave.” A related verb is used in the Decalogue’s prohibition against coveting (Exod 20:17; Deut 5:21).

[13:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “will be made fat” (cf. KJV, NASB); NRSV “is richly supplied.”

[15:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “like an overgrowth”; NRSV “overgrown with thorns”; cf. CEV “like walking in a thorn patch.” The point of the simile is that the path of life taken by the lazy person has many obstacles that are painful – it is like trying to break through a hedge of thorns. The LXX has “strewn with thorns.”

[15:19]  ¹² tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[15:19]  ¹³ sn The contrast to the “thorny way” is the highway, the Hebrew word signifying a well built-up road (סָלַל, salal, “to heap up”). The upright have no reason to swerve, duck, or detour, but may expect “clear sailing.” Other passages pair these two concepts, e.g., Prov 6:10; 10:26; 28:19.

[18:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Also, the one who.” Many commentators and a number of English versions omit the word “also.”

[18:9]  ¹⁵ tn The form מִתְרַפֶּה (mitrappeh) is the Hitpael participle, “showing oneself slack.” The verb means “to sink; to relax,” and in the causative stem “to let drop” the hands. This is the lazy person who does not even try to work.

[18:9]  ¹⁶ sn These two troubling types, the slacker and the destroyer, are closely related.

[18:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “possessor of destruction.” This idiom means “destroyer” (so ASV); KJV “a great waster”; NRSV “a vandal.”

[24:30]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “lacks heart”; KJV “understanding”; NAB, NASB, NLT “sense.”

[24:31]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew term וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, traditionally “and, lo” [KJV, ASV]) is a deictic particle that calls attention to what comes next. “And look” is too abrupt here; “I saw” calls attention to the field that was noticed.

[24:31]  ²⁰ tn Heb “its face” (so KJV, ASV).

[24:32]  ²¹ sn Heb “I set my heart.” The “heart” represents the mind and the will combined; to “set” the mind and will means to give careful consideration to what was observed.

[24:32]  ²² tn Heb “I looked, I received instruction.” There are four verbs in the two parts of this verse: “I saw…I set…I saw…I received.” It is clear that the first two verbs in each half verse are the foundation for the next two. At the beginning of the verse the form is the preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive; it can be subordinated as a temporal clause to the next verb, probably to be identified as a preterite with the vav – “when I saw, I put.” The next two verbs are both perfect tenses; their construction would parallel the first half of the verse, even though there are no conjunctions here – “[when] I saw, I received.”

[24:34]  ²³ tn Heb “a man of shield.” This could refer to an armed warrior (so NRSV) but in this context, in collocation with the other word for “robber” in the previous line, it must refer to an armed criminal.

[25:26]  ²⁴ tn Grk “But answering, his master said to him.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[12:2]  ²⁵ tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

[12:2]  ²⁶ tn Grk “to this age.”

[12:2]  ²⁷ sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

[1:10]  ²⁸ tn Grk “remember you, always asking.”

[1:10]  ²⁹ tn Grk “succeed in coming to you in the will of God.”