Laziness brings on deep sleep, and an idle soul will suffer hunger.
Parallel translations
- WEB Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep. The idle soul shall suffer hunger.
- KJV Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
- NKJV Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, And an idle person will suffer hunger.
- NASB Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, And a lazy person will suffer hunger.
- NLT Lazy people sleep soundly, but idleness leaves them hungry.
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
Laziness leads to deep sleep and hunger. Idleness brings poverty and want.
Overview
This proverb warns that slothfulness induces a 'deep sleep,' a spiritual and practical stupor, and that the idle person goes hungry. It underscores the link between diligence and provision that runs throughout Proverbs (cf. 6:9-11). Scripture dignifies honest work and warns against idleness (2 Thess. 3:10), calling believers to faithful labor as good stewards under God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Prov 23:21For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
- Prov 20:13Do not love sleep, or you will grow poor; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of food.
- 2 Th 3:10For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”
- Prov 6:9–10How long will you lie there, O slacker? When will you get up from your sleep?
- Prov 24:33A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
- Rom 13:11–12And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
- Prov 10:4–5Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
- Eph 5:14So it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
- Isa 56:10Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.
- Prov 19:24The slacker buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 19:15 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.