Amsal 6:6-11

6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; ¹ 

observe its ways and be wise!

6:7 It has no commander,

overseer, or ²  ruler,

6:8 yet it prepares its food in the summer;

it gathers at the harvest what it will eat. ³ 

6:9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there?

When will you rise from your sleep? ⁴ 

6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to relax, ⁵ 

6:11 and your poverty will come like a robber, ⁶ 

and your need like an armed man. ⁷ 

Amsal 26:13-16

26:13 The sluggard ⁸  says, “There is a lion in the road!

A lion in the streets!” ⁹ 

26:14 Like ¹⁰  a door that turns on its hinges, ¹¹ 

so a sluggard turns ¹²  on his bed.

26:15 The sluggard plunges ¹³  his hand in the dish;

he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. ¹⁴ 

26:16 The sluggard is wiser in his own estimation ¹⁵ 

than seven people who respond with good sense. ¹⁶ 

[6:6]  ¹ sn The sluggard (עָצֵל, ’atsel) is the lazy or sluggish person (cf. NCV “lazy person”; NRSV, NLT “lazybones”).

[6:7]  ² tn The conjunction vav (ו) here has the classification of alternative, “or” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 71, §433).

[6:8]  ³ tc The LXX adds a lengthy section at the end of the verse on the lesson from the bee: “Or, go to the bee and learn how diligent she is and how seriously she does her work – her products kings and private persons use for health – she is desired and respected by all – though feeble in body, by honoring wisdom she obtains distinction.” The Greek translator thought the other insect should be mentioned (see C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 124).

[6:8]  tn Heb “its food.”

[6:9]  ⁴ sn The use of the two rhetorical questions is designed to rebuke the lazy person in a forceful manner. The sluggard is spending too much time sleeping.

[6:10]  ⁵ sn The writer might in this verse be imitating the words of the sluggard who just wants to take “a little nap.” The use is ironic, for by indulging in this little rest the lazy one comes to ruin.

[6:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “like a wayfarer” or “like a traveler” (cf. KJV). The LXX has “swiftness like a traveler.” It has also been interpreted as a “highwayman” (cf. NAB) or a “dangerous assailant.” W. McKane suggests “vagrant” (Proverbs [OTL], 324); cf. NASB “vagabond.” Someone traveling swiftly would likely be a robber.

[6:11]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew word for “armed” is probably connected to the word for “shield” and “deliver” (s.v. גָּנַן). G. R. Driver connects it to the Arabic word for “bold; insolent,” interpreting its use here as referring to a beggar or an insolent man (“Studies in the Vocabulary of the Old Testament, IV,” JTS 33 [1933]: 38-47).

[26:13]  ⁸ sn The Book of Fools covered vv. 1-12. This marks the beginning of what may be called the Book of Sluggards (vv. 13-16).

[26:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the broad plazas”; NAB, NASB “in the square.” This proverb makes the same point as 22:13, namely, that the sluggard uses absurd excuses to get out of work. D. Kidner notes that in this situation the sluggard has probably convinced himself that he is a realist and not a lazy person (Proverbs [TOTC], 163).

[26:14]  ¹⁰ tn The comparative “like” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied from context in the translation.

[26:14]  ¹¹ sn The sluggard is too lazy to get out of bed – although he would probably rationalize this by saying that he is not at his best in the morning. The humor of the verse is based on an analogy with a door – it moves back and forth on its hinges but goes nowhere. Like the door to the wall, the sluggard is “hinged” to his bed (e.g., Prov 6:9-10; 24:33).

[26:14]  ¹² tn The term “turns” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation from the parallelism.

[26:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “buries” (so many English versions); KJV “hideth”; NAB “loses.”

[26:15]  ¹⁴ sn The proverb is stating that the sluggard is too lazy to eat; this is essentially the same point made in 19:24 (see the note there).

[26:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in his eyes.” The lazy person thinks that he has life all figured out and has chosen the wise course of action – but he is simply lazy. J. H. Greenstone says, for example, “Much anti-intellectualism may be traced to such rationalization for laziness” (Proverbs, 269).

[26:16]  ¹⁶ tn The term means “taste; judgment.” The related verb means “to taste; to perceive,” that is, “to examine by tasting,” or examine by experiencing (e.g., Ps 34:9). Here the idea is expressed with the participle in construct, “those returners [of] good sense,” those who answer tastefully, with discretion. Cf. NIV “who (+ can NRSV) answer discreetly.”