PROV 21:25 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=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs.
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 Ἐπιθυμίαι ὀκνηρὸν ἀποκτείνουσιν, οὐ γὰρ προαιροῦνται αἱ χεῖρες αὐτοῦ ποιεῖν τι.
(Epithumiai oknaʸron apokteinousin, ou gar proairountai hai ⱪeires autou poiein ti. )

ULT The desire of the lazy one causes him to die,
⇔ for his hands refuse to act.

UST Lazy people want food, but they will die
⇔ because they refuse to work.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE The desire of the sluggard kills him,
⇔ for his hands refuse to labour.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET What the sluggard desires will kill him,
⇔ for his hands refuse to work.

LSV The desire of the slothful slays him,
For his hands have refused to work.

FBV Slackers die hungry because they refuse to work.

T4T ⇔ Lazy people, who refuse to work, will die of hunger
⇔ because they [SYN] do not earn money to buy food.

LEB • The craving of a lazy person will kill him, for his hands refuse to work.[fn]

21:? Or “make”

BBE The desire of the hater of work is death to him, for his hands will do no work.

Moff A lazy man’s ease is his undoing,
⇔ for his hands will not labour;

JPS The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.

ASV The desire of the sluggard killeth him;
⇔ For his hands refuse to labor.

DRA Desires kill the slothful: for his hands have refused to work at all.

YLT The desire of the slothful slayeth him, For his hands have refused to work.

Drby The desire of the sluggard killeth him; for his hands refuse to work:

RV The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.
(The desire of the slothful killeth/kills him; for his hands refuse to labour. )

SLT The desire of the slothful shall kill him, for his hands refused to work,

Wbstr The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labor.

KJB-1769 The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.
(The desire of the slothful killeth/kills him; for his hands refuse to labour. )

KJB-1611 The desire of the slouthfull killeth him: for his hands refuse to labour.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps The desire of the slouthfull kylleth him: for his handes wyll not labour.
(The desire of the slothful killeth/kills him: for his hands will not labour.)

Gnva The desire of the slouthfull slayeth him: for his hands refuse to worke.
(The desire of the slothful slayeth/slays/slaughters him: for his hands refuse to work. )

Cvdl The voluptuousnesse of the slouthfull is his owne death, for his hades wyll not labor.
(The voluptuousness of the slothful is his own death, for his hands will not labor.)

Wycl Desiris sleen a slow man; for hise hondis nolden worche ony thing.
(Desiris slain/killed a slow man; for his hands wouldn’t work any thing.)

Luth Der Faule stirbt über seinem Wünschen; denn seine Hände wollen nichts tun.
(The lazy_(one) dies(v) above his Wünschen; because/than his hands want nothing do/put.)

ClVg Desideria occidunt pigrum: noluerunt enim quidquam manus ejus operari.
(Desideria occidunt lazy: they_didn't_want because anything hands his to_work. )

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

21:25

The ultimate reason for the lazy person’s death is his refusal to work. Without working, he cannot get food and other things that he needs to stay alive.

^25aThe craving of the slacker kills him,

^25bbecause his hands refuse to work.

21:25a

The craving of the slacker kills him

What the lazy person desires will lead to his death,
A lazy person longs to do nothing but sleep. This will cause him to die early,

The craving of the slacker: The word craving refers here to any desire or longing. It is not limited to a desire for food.In Proverbs 21:26a, the BSB translates this word as “covets more.” In the other six verses where the word occurs in Proverbs (10:24, 11:23, 13:12, 13:19, 18:1, 19:22), the BSB uses the more general term “desire.” For example:

The idler’s desires (NJB)

The desire of a lazy person (GW)

This proverb does not make the object of the sluggard’s desire or longing explicit. Some scholars think that it refers to an unsatisfied desire (hunger) for food.Waltke (page 188), Fox (page 690), Whybray (page 314). Other scholars think that it refers to a lazy person’s desire for sleep.Scholars who think that “sleep,” “rest,” or “ease” are the probable object of the sluggard’s desire include Cohen (page 143), Ross (page 1057), Toy (page 409), NET footnote. If you need to specify what the lazy person desires, it is recommended that you make “sleep” explicit. For example:

Lazy people’s desire for sleep (NCV)

Several other verses in Proverbs state or imply the sluggard’s tendency to do nothing but rest or sleep.See Proverbs 6:9–11, (much of which is repeated in 24:30–34) and 26:14.

kills him: The lazy person’s desire to take life easy will eventually result in his early death. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

will lead to his death

will cause him to die early

21:25a–b

(combined/reordered)

Lazy people love to sleep all the time. They refuse to work. As a result, they will die.

21:25b

because his hands refuse to work.

because his hands refuse to do the work that is necessary to stay alive.
because he does not want to work.

because his hands refuse to work: In this context, the phrase his hands is a figure of speech (synecdoche). The hands represent the entire person. In some languages, it may be natural to say that someone’s hands refuse to work. In other languages, it will be better to speak of the person. For example:

because they refuse to work (NCV)

General Comment on 21:25a–b