Proverbs 12:24

Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor. Hard work leads to authority, while sloth leads to servitude.

Cross-references · 14

• Prov 12:27A lazy man does not roast his game, but a diligent man prizes his possession.
• Prov 10:4Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
• Prov 21:25–26The craving of the slacker kills him because his hands refuse to work.
• Prov 13:4The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.
• Prov 19:15Laziness brings on deep sleep, and an idle soul will suffer hunger.
• Prov 22:29Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will be stationed in the presence of kings; he will not stand before obscure men.
• Prov 22:13The slacker says, “There is a lion outside! I will be slain in the streets!”
• Gen 49:15He saw that his resting place was good and that his land was pleasant, so he bent his shoulder to the burden and submitted to labor as a servant.
• 1 Kgs 11:28Now Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor. So when Solomon noticed that the young man was industrious, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph.
• Prov 17:2A wise servant will rule over a disgraceful son and share his inheritance as one of the brothers.
• 1 Kgs 9:21their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to devote to destruction—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day.
• Prov 26:13–16The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”
• Prov 24:30–34I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.
• 1 Kgs 12:20When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.

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