I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;
Parallel translations
- WEB I went by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
- KJV I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
- BSB I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.
- NASB ¶I passed by the field of a lazy one, And by the vineyard of a person lacking sense,
- NLT I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one with no common sense.
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 teacher observes the neglected field of a lazy, senseless man. A lesson is drawn from watching consequences.
Overview
This begins a short parable-like reflection (vv. 30-34) in which the sage learns wisdom by observing the ruin caused by sloth. The sluggard and the one lacking understanding are paired, linking laziness to moral folly. The passage models how careful observation of life teaches the fear of the Lord and prudent diligence.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 12:11He who tills his land shall have plenty of bread, but he who chases fantasies is void of understanding.
- Prov 6:6–19Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways, and be wise;
- Job 4:8According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity, and sow trouble, reap the same.
- Eccl 8:9–11All this I have seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt.
- Eccl 4:1–8Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
- Job 15:17“I will show you, listen to me; that which I have seen I will declare
- Prov 6:32He who commits adultery with a woman is void of understanding. He who does it destroys his own soul.
- Prov 10:13Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has discernment, but a rod is for the back of him who is void of understanding.
- Job 5:27Look this, we have searched it, so it is. Hear it, and know it for your good.”
- Ps 37:25I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread.
- Eccl 7:15All this I have seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in his evildoing.
- Ps 107:42The upright will see it, and be glad. All the wicked will shut their mouths.
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 24:30 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.