The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.
Parallel translations
- WEB The hands of the diligent ones shall rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.
- BSB The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.
- NKJV The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.
- NASB The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy hand will be put to forced labor.
- NLT Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave.
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
Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor. Hard work leads to authority, while sloth leads to servitude.
Overview
This proverb contrasts the advancement of the diligent with the subjugation of the lazy. Faithful effort tends toward responsibility and influence, while slothfulness leads to bondage. It reflects God's design that diligent stewardship be honored, encouraging believers to work heartily as unto the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Prov 12:27The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.
- Prov 10:4He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
- Prov 21:25–26The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.
- Prov 13:4The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
- Prov 19:15Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
- Prov 22:29Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.
- Prov 22:13The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.
- Gen 49:15And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
- 1 Kgs 11:28And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.
- Prov 17:2A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.
- 1 Kgs 9:21Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.
- Prov 26:13–16The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
- Prov 24:30–34I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
- 1 Kgs 12:20And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
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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 12:24 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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