PROV 20:4 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

20:4 OSHB variant note: ישאל: (x-qere) ’וְ/שָׁאַ֖ל’: lemma_c/7592 morph_HC/Vqq3ms id_2096q וְ/שָׁאַ֖ל

Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Ὀνειδιζόμενος ὀκνηρὸς οὐκ αἰσχύνεται, ὡσαύτως καὶ ὁ δανειζόμενος σῖτον ἐν ἀμητῷ.
(Oneidizomenos oknaʸros ouk aisⱪunetai, hōsautōs kai ho daneizomenos siton en amaʸtōi. )

BrTr A sluggard when reproached is not ashamed: so also he who borrows corn in harvest.

ULT A lazy one will not plow from winter,
⇔ and he begs in the harvest, but there is nothing.

UST Lazy farmers do not plow their fields when they should plow their fields.
⇔ Then when it is time to harvest crops, they look for crops in their fields, but there are none.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE The sluggard will not plough by reason of the winter;
⇔ therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET The sluggard will not plow during the planting season,
⇔ so at harvest time he looks for the crop but has nothing.

LSV The slothful does not plow because of winter,
He asks in harvest, and there is nothing.

FBV Slackers don't sow when they should, so when harvest comes they don't have anything.

T4T ⇔ If a lazy man does not plow his fields at the right/proper time,
⇔ he will look for crops at harvest time, but there will be nothing there.

LEB • The lazy person will not plow in season; he will expect at the harvest, but there will be nothing.

BBE The hater of work will not do his ploughing because of the winter; so at the time of grain-cutting he will be requesting food and will get nothing.

Moff In the cold season a lazy man will not plough
⇔ so he expects a crop in vain at harvest.

JPS The sluggard will not plow when winter setteth in; therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.

ASV The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter;
⇔ Therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.

DRA Because of the cold the sluggard would not plough: he shall beg therefore in the summer, and it shall not be given him.

YLT Because of winter the slothful plougheth not, He asketh in harvest, and there is nothing.

Drby The sluggard will not plough by reason of the winter; he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.

RV The slothful will not plow by reason of the winter; therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
(The slothful will not plough by reason of the winter; therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing. )

SLT The slothful one reproaching will not work: he shall ask in harvest, and nothing.

Wbstr The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.

KJB-1769 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.[fn]
(The sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing. )

20.4 cold: or, winter

KJB-1611 [fn]The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he begge in haruest, and haue nothing.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above apart from footnotes)

20:4 Or, winter.

Bshps A slouthfull body wyll not go to plow for colde of the winter: therefore shall he begge in sommer, and haue nothing.
(A slothful body will not go to plough for cold of the winter: therefore shall he beg in summer, and have nothing.)

Gnva The slouthfull will not plowe, because of winter: therefore shall he beg in sommer, but haue nothing.
(The slothful will not plough, because of winter: therefore shall he beg in summer, but have nothing. )

Cvdl A slouthfull body wyl not go to plowe for colde, therfore shal he go abegginge in Sommer, and haue nothinge.
(A slothful body will not go to plough for colde, therefore shall he go abegginge in Summer, and have nothing.)

Wycl A slow man nolde ere for coold; therfor he schal begge in somer, and me schal not yyue to hym.
(A slow man wouldn’t ere/before for cold; therefore he shall beg in summer, and me shall not give to him.)

Luth Um der Kälte willen will der Faule nicht pflügen; so muß er in der Ernte betteln und nichts kriegen.
(To the/of_the coldness will will the/of_the lazy_(one) not plough(v); so must he in the/of_the harvest beg and nothing get.)

ClVg Propter frigus piger arare noluit; mendicabit ergo æstate, et non dabitur illi.[fn]
(Because cold lazy/reluctant arare he_did_not_want; mendicabit therefore summer, and not/no will_be_given them. )

20.4 Æstate. Regnum Dei æstati comparatur, quia nunc mœroris nostri nubila transient, et vitæ dies æterni solis claritate fulgebunt.

20.4 Æstate. Regnum of_God brasstati is_compared, because now sorrowful our nubila transient, and of_life days eternal of_the_sun clarity fulgebunt.

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

This section is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs. It has a very different structure from the longer poetic lectures of chapters 1–9. It consists mostly of individual couplets (two-line poems) that are each one verse in length. With the exception of the title (10:1a), paragraph breaks will not be indicated in the Notes or Display. You may of course choose to start each proverb as a separate paragraph in your translation.

In chapters 10–15, most of these one-verse couplets express a contrast between the two lines. One of the more common contrasts is between the righteous/wise and the wicked/foolish and the different consequences of their conduct.

In chapters 16:1–22:16, more topics are discussed. There is more emphasis on the role of the king and other leaders. In these chapters, there are few proverbs with contrasting lines. Some of the parallel lines are similar in meaning. More frequently, the second line adds to what the first line says or gives an example. Most of the verses have no obvious connection with the previous or following proverbs.UBS (page 214), Fox (page 509), McKane (page 413). Many scholars, including McKane, point out that there are some topical groupings as well as poetic connections. These include the repetition of certain words or sounds. This observation does not deny the individual nature of most of the proverbs in this Section.

Two of the types of proverbs in this section are not found in chapters 1–9. One type contains logical reasoning from the lesser to the greater. See 11:31 for a list of these proverbs. There are also several varieties of complex “better than” proverbs. The most common have a contrasting situation in each line (see 12:9). For other varieties, see 16:16, 19:1, and 21:9.

Many of the proverbs in this section refer to categories of people who share a common trait. For example, they refer to the righteous, the wise, the poor, and the lazy. In Hebrew, some verses use singular forms to refer to these groups of people. Other verses use plural forms. Still others use a combination of singular and plural. See the note on 10:30a–b for one example. For most of these verses, the Notes will not comment on the difference between singular and plural forms. Use a natural way in your language to refer to one or more people who are in the same category.

Many of the proverbs in this section express a general principle in abstract terms. They are not addressed specifically to the readers. For example, 10:2a–b says:

Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,

but righteousness delivers from death.

However, the author intended his readers to understand these proverbs as advice that they should follow. In some languages, authors or speakers give advice more directly, using pronouns such as you^(sing), you^(plur), we^(dual), or we^(incl). See the note on 10:2 for translation suggestions.

Some other headings for this section are:

Proverbs of Solomon (NIV)

The Wise Words of Solomon (NCV)

Here are many wise things that Solomon said

20:4

This proverb is an implied warning against laziness.

^4aThe slacker does not plow in season;

^4bat harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.

The second line describes the unfortunate results of not doing necessary work at the right time. This work is described in the first line.

20:4a

The slacker does not plow in season;

A lazy person does not plow his fields at plowing/planting time.
People who are too lazy to prepare the soil for planting seeds at the proper time,

The slacker does not plow in season: This clause describes a lazy farmer. This lazy man does not plow his field at the right time to prepare it for planting the seed.

plow: In the eastern Mediterranean culture, to plow (or “plough”) meant to use a sharply pointed wooden tool to break up the soil before planting seeds. A plow was usually pulled by an ox or a donkey. The farmer held the plow in order to keep it going in a straight line.

In areas where people are not familiar with plowing, another way to translate this word is to use a descriptive phrase. For example:

prepare the ground for planting

cultivate the soil

in season: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “from/duringThe Hebrew preposition used here (min-) can also mean “by reason of.” For example, the KJV has: “by reason of the cold.” According to Kidner (page 136), this interpretation would provide the lazy person with an excuse for not working. However, most versions and scholars understand the preposition in a temporal sense (“from the time of” or “during”). As Toy (page 384) points out, the person in this proverb stays away from work because of laziness, not because of the cold. autumn.”The BART interlinear has “from autumn.” BDB (#2779) and TWOT (#750a) both use the word “autumn” as one of their glosses. NIDOTTE (H3074) and HALOT (#3258) gloss it as “winter.” It was a cold, wet season of the year (see Jeremiah 36:22), lasting from October to March. The other season was hot and dry. It lasted from April to September (UBS, page 417). For more details regarding the times of year in which various crops were harvested, see Toy (pages 383–384) or Waltke (page 130). In the eastern Mediterranean area, the early rains came in October and November and softened the ground. Starting from this time onward, farmers could begin the work of plowing and then planting.

Terms for seasons of the year and times for plowing differ, depending on the area of the world. Some ways to translate the Hebrew term meaningfully are:

Use a specific term that fits the weather or agricultural season in your area. This option is appropriate if it does not contradict the situation in the land of Israel. For example:
during the planting season (NET)
at plowing time
after the rains arrive
Use a general term that focuses on the time when plowing needs to be done. For example:
at the right time (GNT)
when they should (NCV)

20:4b

at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.

When harvest time comes, there is nothing to find when he looks for a crop.
will find no crop to harvest.

at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there: This clause gives the result of the lazy person’s failure to plow: he will find no crop at harvest time.

he looks, but nothing is there: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “he asks and there is nothing.” The verb “asks” probably has a figurative meaning here. It may mean that he foolishly goes to his field to look for crops. It may also mean that he expects to find crops.An equally common meaning of this Hebrew verb is “to request/beg.” Some versions understand this verse to mean that the lazy person begs his neighbors for a share of the harvest. For example, the NASB has: “he begs during the harvest and has nothing.” However, most versions understand it to mean “look,” as in the BSB. As Toy (page 384) points out, it would have been culturally inappropriate at the harvest season for people to refuse to give any food to someone who requested it. Either way, this clause emphasizes the foolishness of the lazy person.

Some other ways to translate 20:4b are:

when he looks for the harvest, it is not there (NAB)

they expect a harvest, but there is none (NCV)

Some versions leave the verb looks implied. For example:

harvest comes, and there is nothing to be found (NRSV)

This may be a good option if the implied meaning is clear from the context.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

עָצֵ֣ל & וְשָׁאַ֖ל

sluggard & (Some words not found in UHB: from,winter sluggard not plow ישאל at,harvest and,there_[is]_not )

A lazy one and he here refer to a type of person in general, not a specific person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “Any lazy person … and that person begs”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

מֵ֭⁠חֹרֶף

from,winter

The phrase from winter refers to the time when the people in Solomon’s area would prepare their fields to grow crops. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “during the proper time to plow”

Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

וְשָׁאַ֖ל

(Some words not found in UHB: from,winter sluggard not plow ישאל at,harvest and,there_[is]_not )

Here, and introduces the result of what happened in the previous verse. Use the most natural way in your language to indicate results. You may need to start a new sentence. Alternate translation: “and it causes him to beg”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וְשָׁאַ֖ל

(Some words not found in UHB: from,winter sluggard not plow ישאל at,harvest and,there_[is]_not )

Here Solomon refers to a lazy one looking carefully for crops in his field as if he were begging the field to provide crops. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and he searches his fields carefully for crops”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

בַּ⁠קָּצִ֣יר

at,harvest

Here, the harvest refers to the time of yearwhen farmers harvest their crops. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “during the time of year when farmers harvest crops”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וָ⁠אָֽיִן

and,there_[is]_not

Here Solomon implies that there is nothing for the lazy one to harvest in the harvest. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “but has nothing to harvest”

Parallel PROV 20:4

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

20:4

20:4a

20:4b