I passed by a lazy person’s field and by the vineyard of someone with no sense.
“Listen to me, and I will tell you about it; I will tell you what I have seen.
I have noticed that people who plow evil and plant trouble, harvest it.
“We have checked this, and it is true, so hear it and decide what it means to you.”
Good people see this and are happy, but the wicked say nothing.
I was young, and now I am old, but I have never seen good people left helpless or their children begging for food.
Wise people speak with understanding, but people without wisdom should be punished.
Those who work their land will have plenty of food, but the one who chases empty dreams is not wise.
The lazy will not get what they want, but those who work hard will.
A man who takes part in adultery has no sense; he will destroy himself.
If someone is lazy, the roof will begin to fall. If he doesn’t fix it, the house will leak.
In my useless life I have seen both of these: I have seen good people die in spite of their goodness and evil people live a long time in spite of their evil.