The slacker buries his hand in the dish; it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.
Parallel translations
- WEB The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
- KJV The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.
- NKJV The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.
- NASB A lazy one buries his hand in the dish; He is weary of bringing it to his mouth again.
- NLT Lazy people take food in their hand but don’t even lift it to their mouth.
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 is too lazy even to bring food from the dish to his mouth. Laziness can become absurdly self-defeating.
Overview
Echoing Proverbs 19:24, this exaggeration shows how sloth undermines even the simplest self-care. Laziness is portrayed not as harmless but as a serious deformity of character. It warns that habitual idleness erodes the will to do even what is plainly necessary.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Prov 19:24The slacker buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth.
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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 26:15 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
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