Bible Strands
Proverbs 21:25
The craving of the slacker kills him because his hands refuse to work.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The book of Proverbs addresses a general audience seeking practical wisdom, positioned between a description of the arrogant mocker and a contrast between covetousness and generous giving.
The words — עָצֵל ('a.Tzel) translates to a sluggard or slacker, and מֵאֲנ֖וּ (me.'a.Nu) means they refuse.
The thread — This theme of unfulfilled desire and refusal to work appears in Proverbs 13:4, Proverbs 12:24, and Matthew 25:26.
Why it lands — The text states that a slacker’s cravings destroy him because his hands refuse to work. It demands active labor rather than passive wishing.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 13:4 The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.
- Matthew 25:26 ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed.
- Proverbs 12:24 The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.
- Proverbs 19:24 The slacker buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth.
- Proverbs 12:27 A lazy man does not roast his game, but a diligent man prizes his possession.
- Proverbs 15:19 The way of the slacker is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.
- Proverbs 26:16 The slacker is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.
- Proverbs 24:30 I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.
- Proverbs 20:4 The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.
- Proverbs 22:13 The slacker says, “There is a lion outside! I will be slain in the streets!”