Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.
Parallel translations
- WEB The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter; therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
- KJV The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
- BSB The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.
- NKJV The lazy man will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and have nothing.
- NASB The lazy one does not plow after the autumn, So he begs during the harvest and has nothing.
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
The sluggard won't plow in season, so he finds nothing at harvest. Neglecting duty in its proper time brings later want.
Overview
This proverb pictures the sluggard refusing to plow because of the cold, only to beg in vain at harvest. It teaches that work neglected in its season yields poverty later, underscoring the importance of timely diligence. The principle of sowing and reaping runs through Scripture (Gal. 6:7-9), urging believers to labor faithfully now in their God-given callings rather than to indulge laziness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Prov 10:4He becomes poor who works with a lazy hand, but the hand of the diligent brings wealth.
- Prov 19:15Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep. The idle soul shall suffer hunger.
- Prov 13:4The soul of the sluggard desires, and has nothing, but the desire of the diligent shall be fully satisfied.
- Matt 25:3–10Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them,
- Matt 25:24–28“He also who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter.
- 2 Pet 1:5–11Yes, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence; and in moral excellence, knowledge;
- Prov 26:13–16The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!”
- Prov 6:10–11A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
- Prov 19:24The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
- Prov 24:34so your poverty will come as a robber, and your want as an armed man.
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 20:4 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
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.