Proverbs 13:4

The Message

Indolence wants it all and gets nothing; the energetic have something to show for their lives.

Cross References

Genesis 26:32

Later that same day, Isaac’s servants came to him with news about the well they had been digging, “We’ve struck water!” Isaac named the well Sheba (Oath), and that’s the name of the city, Beersheba (Oath-Well), to this day. * * *

Proverbs 10:4

Sloth makes you poor; diligence brings wealth.

Proverbs 11:25

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.

Proverbs 12:11

The one who stays on the job has food on the table; the witless chase whims and fancies.

Proverbs 12:24

The diligent find freedom in their work; the lazy are oppressed by work.

Proverbs 12:27

A lazy life is an empty life, but “early to rise” gets the job done.

Proverbs 13:3

Careful words make for a careful life; careless talk may ruin everything.

Proverbs 13:5

A good person hates false talk; a bad person wallows in gibberish.

Proverbs 20:4

A farmer too lazy to plant in the spring has nothing to harvest in the fall.

Proverbs 21:25

Lazy people finally die of hunger because they won’t get up and go to work.

Proverbs 21:5

Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind.

Proverbs 24:30

One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones, and then passed the vineyard of a slob; They were overgrown with weeds, thick with thistles, all the fences broken down. I took a long look and pondered what I saw; the fields preached me a sermon and I listened: “A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next? Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, with poverty as your permanent houseguest!”

Proverbs 26:13

Loafers say, “It’s dangerous out there! Tigers are prowling the streets!” and then pull the covers back over their heads.

Proverbs 28:25

A grasping person stirs up trouble, but trust in God brings a sense of well-being.

Proverbs 6:6

You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions. So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed? A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next? Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest!

Song of Solomon 5:3

“But I’m in my nightgown—do you expect me to get dressed? I’m bathed and in bed—do you want me to get dirty?”

John 6:27

“Don’t waste your energy striving for perishable food like that. Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and what he does are guaranteed by God the Father to last.”

Joshua 7:3

They returned to Joshua and reported, “Don’t bother sending a lot of people—two or three thousand men are enough to defeat Ai. Don’t wear out the whole army; there aren’t that many people there.”