Proverbs 6:6-11

6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; ¹ 

observe its ways and be wise!

6:7 It has no commander,

overseer, or ²  ruler,

6:8 yet it prepares its food in the summer;

it gathers at the harvest what it will eat. ³ 

6:9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there?

When will you rise from your sleep? ⁴ 

6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to relax, ⁵ 

6:11 and your poverty will come like a robber, ⁶ 

and your need like an armed man. ⁷ 

Proverbs 11:24

11:24 One person is generous ⁸  and yet grows more wealthy, ⁹ 

but another withholds more than he should ¹⁰  and comes to poverty. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 12:24

12:24 The diligent ¹²  person ¹³  will rule,

but the slothful ¹⁴  will become a slave. ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 19:15

19:15 Laziness brings on ¹⁶  a deep sleep, ¹⁷ 

and the idle person ¹⁸  will go hungry. ¹⁹ 

Proverbs 19:24

19:24 The sluggard plunges ²⁰  his hand in the dish,

and he will not even bring it back to his mouth! ²¹ 

Proverbs 20:4

20:4 The sluggard will not plow ²²  during the planting season, ²³ 

so at harvest time he looks ²⁴  for the crop ²⁵  but has nothing.

Proverbs 20:13

20:13 Do not love sleep, ²⁶  lest you become impoverished;

open your eyes so that ²⁷  you might be satisfied with food. ²⁸ 

Proverbs 24:30-34

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

by the vineyard of one who lacks wisdom. ²⁹ 

24:31 I saw ³⁰  that thorns had grown up all over it,

the ground ³¹  was covered with weeds,

and its stone wall was broken down.

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

I received instruction from what I saw: ³³ 

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.” ³⁴ 

Ecclesiastes 10:18

10:18 Because of laziness the roof ³⁵  caves in,

and because of idle hands ³⁶  the house leaks.

John 6:27

6:27 Do not work for the food that disappears, ³⁷  but for the food that remains to eternal life – the food ³⁸  which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.” ³⁹ 

Hebrews 6:11-12

6:11 But we passionately want each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of your hope until the end, 6:12 so that you may not be sluggish, ⁴⁰  but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises.

Hebrews 6:2

6:2 teaching about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

Hebrews 1:5-10

The Son Is Superior to Angels

1:5 For to which of the angels did God ⁴¹  ever say, “You are my son! Today I have fathered you”? ⁴²  And in another place ⁴³  he says, ⁴⁴  “I will be his father and he will be my son.” ⁴⁵  1:6 But when he again brings ⁴⁶  his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all the angels of God worship him!” ⁴⁷  1:7 And he says ⁴⁸  of the angels, “He makes ⁴⁹  his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire,” ⁵⁰  1:8 but of ⁵¹  the Son he says, ⁵² 

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, ⁵³ 

and a righteous scepter ⁵⁴  is the scepter of your kingdom.

1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.

So God, your God, has anointed you over your companions ⁵⁵  with the oil of rejoicing.” ⁵⁶ 

1:10 And,

“You founded the earth in the beginning, Lord, ⁵⁷ 

and the heavens are the works of your hands.

[6:6]  ¹ sn The sluggard (עָצֵל, ’atsel) is the lazy or sluggish person (cf. NCV “lazy person”; NRSV, NLT “lazybones”).

[6:7]  ² tn The conjunction vav (ו) here has the classification of alternative, “or” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 71, §433).

[6:8]  ³ tc The LXX adds a lengthy section at the end of the verse on the lesson from the bee: “Or, go to the bee and learn how diligent she is and how seriously she does her work – her products kings and private persons use for health – she is desired and respected by all – though feeble in body, by honoring wisdom she obtains distinction.” The Greek translator thought the other insect should be mentioned (see C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 124).

[6:9]  ⁴ sn The use of the two rhetorical questions is designed to rebuke the lazy person in a forceful manner. The sluggard is spending too much time sleeping.

[6:10]  ⁵ sn The writer might in this verse be imitating the words of the sluggard who just wants to take “a little nap.” The use is ironic, for by indulging in this little rest the lazy one comes to ruin.

[6:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “like a wayfarer” or “like a traveler” (cf. KJV). The LXX has “swiftness like a traveler.” It has also been interpreted as a “highwayman” (cf. NAB) or a “dangerous assailant.” W. McKane suggests “vagrant” (Proverbs [OTL], 324); cf. NASB “vagabond.” Someone traveling swiftly would likely be a robber.

[6:11]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew word for “armed” is probably connected to the word for “shield” and “deliver” (s.v. גָּנַן). G. R. Driver connects it to the Arabic word for “bold; insolent,” interpreting its use here as referring to a beggar or an insolent man (“Studies in the Vocabulary of the Old Testament, IV,” JTS 33 [1933]: 38-47).

[11:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “There is one who scatters.” The participle מְפַזֵּר (mÿfazzer, “one who scatters”) refers to charity rather than farming or investments (and is thus a hypocatastasis). Cf. CEV “become rich by being generous”).

[11:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “increases.” The verb means that he grows even more wealthy. This is a paradox: Generosity determines prosperity in God’s economy.

[11:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “more than what is right.” This one is not giving enough, but saving for himself.

[11:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “comes to lack.” The person who withholds will come to the diminishing of his wealth. The verse uses hyperbole to teach that giving to charity does not make anyone poor, and neither does refusal to give ensure prosperity.

[12:24]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “will be for slave labor.” The term מַס (mas, “slave labor”) refers to a person forced into labor from slavery.

[19:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “causes to fall” or “casts”; NAB “plunges…into.”

[19:15]  ¹⁰ tn Or “complete inactivity”; the word תַּרְדֵּמָה (tardemah) can refer to a physical “deep sleep” (e.g., Gen 2:21; Jonah 1:5, 6); but it can also be used figuratively for complete inactivity, as other words for “sleep” can. Here it refers to lethargy or debility and morbidness.

[19:15]  ¹¹ tn The expression וְנֶפֶשׁ רְמִיָּה (vÿnefesh rÿmiyyah) can be translated “the soul of deceit” or “the soul of slackness.” There are two identical feminine nouns, one from the verb “beguile,” and the other from a cognate Arabic root “grow loose.” The second is more likely here in view of the parallelism (cf. NIV “a shiftless man”; NAB “the sluggard”). One who is slack, that is, idle, will go hungry.

[19:15]  ¹² sn The two lines are related in a metonymical sense: “deep sleep” is the cause of going hungry, and “going hungry” is the effect of deep sleep.

[19:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “buries” (so many English versions); KJV “hideth”; NAB “loses.”

[19:24]  ¹¹ 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.

[20:4]  ¹¹ sn The act of plowing is put for the whole process of planting a crop.

[20:4]  ¹² tn Heb “in the autumn”; ASV “by reason of the winter.” The noun means “autumn, harvest time.” The right time for planting was after the harvest and the rainy season of autumn and winter began.

[20:4]  ¹³ tn The Piel of the verb שָׁאַל (sha’al, “to ask”) means “to beg” or “to inquire carefully.” At the harvest time he looks for produce but there is none. The Piel might suggest, however, that because he did not plant, or did not do it at the right time, he is reduced to begging and will have nothing (cf. KJV, ASV; NASB “he begs during the harvest”).

[20:4]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase “for the crop” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[20:13]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “bread” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV), although the term often serves in a generic sense for food in general.

[24:30]  ¹³ tn Heb “lacks heart”; KJV “understanding”; NAB, NASB, NLT “sense.”

[24:31]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “its face” (so KJV, ASV).

[24:32]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁶ 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.

[10:18]  ¹⁷ tn Or “the rafters sink.”

[10:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “lowering of hands.”

[6:27]  ¹⁸ tn Or “perishes” (this might refer to spoiling, but is more focused on the temporary nature of this kind of food).

[6:27]  ¹⁹ tn The referent (the food) has been specified for clarity by repeating the word “food” from the previous clause.

[6:27]  ²⁰ tn Grk “on this one.”

[6:12]  ¹⁹ tn Or “dull.”

[1:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:5]  ²¹ tn Grk “I have begotten you.”

[1:5]  ²² tn Grk “And again,” quoting another OT passage.

[1:5]  ²³ tn The words “he says” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to make a complete English sentence. In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but English does not normally employ such long and complex sentences.

[1:5]  ²⁴ tn Grk “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me.”

[1:6]  ²¹ tn Or “And again when he brings.” The translation adopted in the text looks forward to Christ’s second coming to earth. Some take “again” to introduce the quotation (as in 1:5) and understand this as Christ’s first coming, but this view does not fit well with Heb 2:7. Others understand it as his exaltation/ascension to heaven, but this takes the phrase “into the world” in an unlikely way.

[1:6]  ²² sn A quotation combining themes from Deut 32:43 and Ps 97:7.

[1:7]  ²² sn The Greek correlative conjunctions μέν and δέ (men and de) emphasize the contrastive parallelism of vs. 7 (what God says about the angels) over against vv. 8-9 and vv. 10-12 (what God says about the son).

[1:7]  ²³ tn Grk “He who makes.”

[1:7]  ²⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 104:4.

[1:8]  ²³ tn Or “to.”

[1:8]  ²⁴ tn The verb “he says” (λέγει, legei) is implied from the λέγει of v. 7.

[1:8]  ²⁵ tn Or possibly, “Your throne is God forever and ever.” This translation is quite doubtful, however, since (1) in the context the Son is being contrasted to the angels and is presented as far better than they. The imagery of God being the Son’s throne would seem to be of God being his authority. If so, in what sense could this not be said of the angels? In what sense is the Son thus contrasted with the angels? (2) The μέν…δέ (men…de) construction that connects v. 7 with v. 8 clearly lays out this contrast: “On the one hand, he says of the angels…on the other hand, he says of the Son.” Thus, although it is grammatically possible that θεός (qeos) in v. 8 should be taken as a predicate nominative, the context and the correlative conjunctions are decidedly against it. Hebrews 1:8 is thus a strong affirmation of the deity of Christ.

[1:8]  ²⁶ tn Grk “the righteous scepter,” but used generically.

[1:9]  ²⁴ sn God…has anointed you over your companions. God’s anointing gives the son a superior position and authority over his fellows.

[1:9]  ²⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 45:6-7.

[1:10]  ²⁵ sn You founded the earth…your years will never run out. In its original setting Ps 102:25-27 refers to the work of God in creation, but here in Hebrews 1:10-12 the writer employs it in reference to Christ, the Lord, making a strong argument for the essential deity of the Son.