so your poverty will come as a robber, and your want as an armed man.
Parallel translations
- KJV So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
- BSB and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.
- NKJV So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.
- NASB Then your poverty will come like a drifter, And your need like an armed man.
- NLT then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
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
Poverty will overtake the sluggard suddenly, like a robber or armed man. Neglect ends in unavoidable want.
Overview
The conclusion of the parable (vv. 30-34) warns that want comes swiftly and forcefully upon the lazy, like an armed bandit. Diligence is thus framed not as optional but as protection against ruin. The image of sudden reckoning also echoes the call to be spiritually watchful and faithful while there is time (Eph 5:15-16).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 24:34 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.