Proverbs 6

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,

7 Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler,

8 Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest.

9 How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep—

11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.

Proverbs 10

4 He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

5 He who gathers in summer is a wise son; He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.

Proverbs 10:26

As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy man to those who send him.

Proverbs 12:24

The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.

Proverbs 12:27

The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious
possession.

Proverbs 13:4

The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.
Proverbs 14:23

In all labor there is profit, But idle chatter leads only to poverty.

Proverbs 15:19

The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, But the way of the upright is a highway.

Proverbs 18:9

He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.

Proverbs 19:15

Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, And an idle person will suffer hunger.

Proverbs 19:24

A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

Proverbs 20:4

The lazy man will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and have nothing.

Proverbs 21:5

The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to
poverty.

Proverbs 21:25

The desire of the lazy man kills him, For his hands refuse to labor.

Proverbs 22:13

The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!”
Proverbs 24

30 I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;

31 And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles;
Its stone wall was broken down.

32 When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction:

33 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest;

34 So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.

Proverbs 26

13 The lazy man says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!”

14 As a door turns on its hinges, So does the lazy man on his bed.

15 The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.

16 The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes Than seven men who can answer sensibly.

Proverbs 27
23
Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, And attend to your herds;
24
For riches are not forever, Nor does a crown endure to all generations.
25
When the hay is removed, and the tender grass shows itself, And the herbs of the mountains
are gathered in,26 The lambs will provide your clothing, And the goats the price of a field;
27
You shall have enough goats’ milk for your food, For the food of your household, And the
nourishment of your maidservants.

Ecclesiastes 10:18

Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks.
Matthew 25

The Parable of the Talents

14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own
servants and delivered his goods to them.

15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his
own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.

16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another
five talents.

17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.

18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.

19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you
delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’

21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few
things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents;
look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’

23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few
things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard
man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is
yours.’

26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap
where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.

27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have
received back my own with interest.
28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him
who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.’

2 Thessalonians 3

Warning Against Idleness

6 But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from
every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from
us.

7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you;

8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day,
that we might not be a burden to any of you,

9 not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should
follow us.

10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither
shall he eat.

11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working
at all, but are busybodies.

12 Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they
work in quietness and eat their own bread.

13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.

14 And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep
company with him, that he may be ashamed.

15 Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

2 Timothy 2:15

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.