Proverbs 26:15

26:15 The sluggard plunges ¹  his hand in the dish;

he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. ² 

Proverbs 19:24

19:24 The sluggard plunges ³  his hand in the dish,

and he will not even bring it back to his mouth! ⁴ 

[26:15]  ¹ tn Heb “buries” (so many English versions); KJV “hideth”; NAB “loses.”

[26:15]  ² sn The proverb is stating that the sluggard is too lazy to eat; this is essentially the same point made in 19:24 (see the note there).

[19:24]  ³ tn Heb “buries” (so many English versions); KJV “hideth”; NAB “loses.”

[19:24]  ⁴ sn This humorous portrayal is an exaggeration; but the point is that laziness can overcome hunger. It would have a wider application for anyone who would start a project and then lack the interest or energy to finish it (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 111). Ibn Ezra proposes that the dish was empty, because the sluggard was too lazy to provide for himself.