The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!”
Parallel translations
- KJV The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
- BSB The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”
- NKJV The lazy man says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!”
- NASB A lazy one says, “There is a lion on the road! A lion is in the public square!”
- NLT The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!”
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 invents wild excuses, claiming a lion is in the street. Laziness rationalizes its refusal to work.
Overview
This begins a portrait of the sluggard (vv. 13-16), who manufactures absurd dangers to justify idleness. The exaggerated excuse reveals how laziness deceives itself. It exposes the self-justifying heart that avoids God-given responsibility through imagined obstacles.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Prov 22:13The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the streets!”
- Prov 19:15Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep. The idle soul shall suffer hunger.
- Prov 15:19The way of the sluggard is like a thorn patch, but the path of the upright is a highway.
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 26:13 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.