Bible Strands
Proverbs 22:13
The slacker says, “There is a lion outside! I will be slain in the streets!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The sluggard voices a fabricated fear of external danger to justify avoiding responsibility.
The words — The Hebrew עָצֵל ('atzel) identifies the speaker as a sluggard, while אֲרִי ('ari) and the verb אֵרָצֵחַ ('eratzach) record his exact claim of being slain by a lion in the open places.
The thread — This exact excuse recurs in Proverbs 26:13, where the sluggard again cites a lion in the road, and parallels the fearful, exaggerated report given by the spies in Numbers 13:32.
Why it lands — The text records a specific verbal excuse for inaction, requiring the reader to recognize how manufactured threats are deployed to avoid duty and reject wisdom.
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 slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 26:13 The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”
- Numbers 13:32 So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land that they had spied out: “The land we explored devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw there are great in stature.
- Proverbs 15:19 The way of the slacker is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.