Bible Strands
Proverbs 21:5
The plans of the diligent bring plenty, as surely as haste leads to poverty.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — A wisdom teacher addresses a student within a rapid-fire collection of antithetical sayings (Prov 21:1–21). The verse sits between a condemnation of pride (v. 4) and a warning against dishonest gain (v. 6).
The words — חָרוּץ (ḥārûṣ, "diligent person") and אָץ ('āṣ, "hasty person") form the verse's spine: both are one-word labels for a type of person, set in direct opposition. The repeated אַךְ ('ak, "only") in each clause tightens the contrast into a binary.
The thread — The same antithesis recurs in Proverbs 10:4 (idle hands vs. diligent hands) and Proverbs 13:4 (slacker vs. diligent soul), while Proverbs 27:23 extends the principle to practical stewardship.
Why it lands — It asks the reader to diagnose whether their lack comes from rushing rather than from inability, and to accept that steady, deliberate work is the reliable path to sufficiency.
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 thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 10:4 Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
- Proverbs 13:4 The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.
- Proverbs 27:23 Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds;
- Ephesians 4:28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:11 and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.
- Proverbs 14:29 A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.
- Proverbs 28:22 A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty awaits him.
- Proverbs 20:21 An inheritance gained quickly will not be blessed in the end.