Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
Parallel translations
- WEB He becomes poor who works with a lazy hand, but the hand of the diligent brings wealth.
- KJV He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
- NKJV He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
- NASB Poor is one who works with a lazy hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
- NLT Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich.
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
A lazy hand brings poverty, but the diligent hand brings wealth. Hard work tends toward provision; laziness toward want.
Overview
This proverb commends diligence and warns against slothfulness, reflecting God's design that honest labor generally yields provision. It is a wise generalization, not a denial that other factors affect outcomes. Scripture honors diligent work as part of godly living, and the New Testament urges believers to work heartily as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23; 2 Thessalonians 3:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Prov 20:4The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.
- Prov 13:4The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.
- Prov 21:5The plans of the diligent bring plenty, as surely as haste leads to poverty.
- Prov 19:15Laziness brings on deep sleep, and an idle soul will suffer hunger.
- Prov 12:24The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.
- Prov 6:6–11Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise.
- Prov 11:24One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.
- Prov 19:24The slacker buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth.
- Prov 20:13Do not love sleep, or you will grow poor; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of food.
- 1 Cor 15:58Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
- Prov 24:30–34I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.
- 2 Pet 1:5–10For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;
- John 6:27Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”
- Heb 6:11–12We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.
- Eccl 10:18Through laziness the roof caves in, and in the hands of the idle, the house leaks.
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 10:4 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
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