Through laziness the roof caves in, and in the hands of the idle, the house leaks.
Parallel translations
- WEB By slothfulness the roof sinks in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaks.
- KJV By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
- NKJV Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks.
- NASB Through extreme laziness the rafters sag, and through idleness the house leaks.
- NLT Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Through laziness the roof sags, and through idle hands the house leaks. Neglect leads quietly to decay and ruin.
Overview
Qoheleth uses a household image to show how sloth produces gradual collapse. What is left untended slowly falls apart. The proverb commends diligence and faithful stewardship, a theme Scripture applies to all areas of life, including watchful care of the soul (Proverbs 24:30-34; Hebrews 6:11-12).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Prov 14:1Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.
- Prov 20:4The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.
- Prov 24:30–34I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.
- Prov 23:21For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
- Heb 6:11We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.
- Prov 21:25The craving of the slacker kills him because his hands refuse to work.
- 2 Pet 1:5–10For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;
- Prov 12:24The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 10:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.