Proverbs 20:13

20:13 Do not love sleep, ¹  lest you become impoverished;

open your eyes so that ²  you might be satisfied with food. ³ 

Proverbs 25:7

25:7 for it is better for him ⁴  to say to you, “Come up here,” ⁵ 

than to put you lower ⁶  before a prince,

whom your eyes have seen. ⁷ 

[20:13]  ¹ sn The proverb uses antithetical parallelism to teach that diligence leads to prosperity. It contrasts loving sleep with opening the eyes, and poverty with satisfaction. Just as “sleep” can be used for slothfulness or laziness, so opening the eyes can represent vigorous, active conduct. The idioms have caught on in modern usage as well – things like “open your eyes” or “asleep on the job.”

[20:13]  ² tn The second line uses two imperatives in a sequence (without the vav [ו]): “open your eyes” and then (or, in order that) you will “be satisfied.”

[20:13]  ³ tn Heb “bread” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV), although the term often serves in a generic sense for food in general.

[25:7]  ⁴ tn The phrase “for him” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[25:7]  ⁵ sn This proverb, covering the two verses, is teaching that it is wiser to be promoted than to risk demotion by self-promotion. The point is clear: Trying to promote oneself could bring on public humiliation; but it would be an honor to have everyone in court hear the promotion by the king.

[25:7]  ⁶ tn The two infinitives construct form the contrast in this “better” sayings; each serves as the subject of its respective clause.

[25:7]  ⁷ tc Most modern commentators either omit this last line or attach it to the next verse. But it is in the text of the MT as well as the LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and most modern English versions (although some of them do connect it to the following verse, e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).