Proverbs 10:4

The one who is lazy ¹  becomes poor, ²  but the one who works diligently ³  becomes wealthy. ⁴ 

biblegateway Pro 10:4

Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.

biblegateway Pro 10:4

Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

biblegateway Pro 10:4

Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich.

biblegateway Pro 10:4

Sloth makes you poor; diligence brings wealth.

SABDAweb Pro 10:4

He who is slow in his work becomes poor, but the hand of the ready worker gets in wealth.

bibleoremus Pro 10:4

A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

biblegateway Pro 10:4

He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

biblegateway Pro 10:4

The one who is lazy ¹  becomes poor, ²  but the one who works diligently ³  becomes wealthy. ⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “a palm of slackness.” The genitive noun רְמִיָּה (remiyyah, “slackness”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a slack palm” (BDB 941 s.v.). The term כַף (khaf, “palm”) is a synecdoche of part (= palm) for the whole person (= one who works with his hands). The hand is emphasized because it is the instrument of physical labor. The “slack hand” is contrasted with the “diligent hand.” A slack hand refers to a lazy worker or careless work that such hands produce. See N. C. Habel, “Wisdom, Wealth, and Poverty Paradigms in the Book of Proverbs,” BiBh 14 (1988): 28-49.

² tc The MT reads רָאשׁ (ra’sh, “poor”) which is the plene spelling of רָשׁ (rash, “poor [person]”; HALOT 1229-30 s.v. רֵישׁ). Both Tg. Prov 10:4 and LXX reflect an alternate vocalization רִישׁ (rish, “poverty”) which is from the same root, and essentially means the same thing.

² tn Heb “causes poverty.” The expression is literally, “the palm of slackness causes poverty.”

³ tn Heb “but the hand of the diligent” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). The genitive noun חָרוּצִים (kharutsim, “diligence”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a diligent hand.” The noun חָרוּצִים (kharutsim) uses the plural form because the plural is often used for abstract moral qualities. The term יָד (yad, “hand”) is a synecdoche of part (= “hand”) for the whole person (= “the one who works with his hands”). The hand is emphasized because it is the instrument of physical labor.

⁴ tn Heb “makes rich” (so NASB, NRSV). The Hiphil verb is used in a causative sense; literally, “the hand of the diligent makes rich.”