Proverbs 24:31

Proverbs 24:31 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
• New International Version (NIV)thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down.

Context of Proverbs 24:31

29Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for his deed.” 30I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man lacking understanding and common sense; And, behold, it was all overgrown with thorns, And nettles were covering its surface, And its stone wall was broken down. 32When I saw, I considered it well; I looked and received instruction. 33“Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest [and daydream],”

Proverbs 24:31 word by word

וְהִנֵּ֨ה עָ֘לָ֤ה כֻלּ֨וֹ׀ קִמְּשֹׂנִ֗ים כָּסּ֣וּ פָנָ֣יו חֲרֻלִּ֑ים וְגֶ֖דֶר אֲבָנָ֣יו נֶהֱרָֽסָה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And, lo, it was all grown overעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• with thornsקִמָּשׂוֹןqimmâshôn · thornH7063
• nettlesחָרוּלchârûl chârûl · nettleH2738
• had coveredכָּסָהkâsâh · to coverH3680
• the faceפָּנֶהpânîym · face: surfaceH6440
• thereof, and the stoneאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
• wallגֶּדֶרgeder · wallH1444
• thereof was broken downהָרַסhâras · to overthrowH2040

Cross-references for Proverbs 24:31

• Genesis 3:17Then to Adam the Lord God said, “Because you have listened [attentively] to the voice of your wife, and have eaten [fruit] from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’; The ground is [now] under a curse because of you; In sorrow and toil you shall eat [the fruit] of it All the days of your life.
• Job 31:40Let thorns grow instead of wheat, And stinkweed and cockleburs instead of barley.” So the words of Job [with his friends] are finished.
• Jeremiah 4:3For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, “Plow your uncultivated ground [for a season], And do not sow among thorns.
• Matthew 13:7Other seed fell among thorns, and thorns came up and choked them out.
• Hebrews 6:8but if it persistently produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.
• Proverbs 19:23The fear of the Lord leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.
• Proverbs 20:4The lazy man does not plow when the winter [planting] season arrives; So he begs at the [next] harvest and has nothing [to reap].
• Proverbs 22:13The lazy one [manufactures excuses and] says, “There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the streets [if I go out to work]!”
• Proverbs 23:21For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And the drowsiness [of overindulgence] will clothe one with rags.
• Ecclesiastes 10:18Through laziness the rafters [of state affairs] decay and the roof sags, and through idleness [the roof of] the house leaks.

Commentaries on Proverbs 24:31

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 30-34Verses 30-34 See what a blessing the husbandman's calling is, and what a wilderness this earth would be without it. See what great difference there is in the management even of worldly affairs. Sloth and self-indulgence are the bane of all good. When we see fields overgrown with thorns and thistles, and the fences broken down, we see an emblem of the far more deplorable state of many souls. Every vile affection grows in men's hearts; yet they compose…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 30-34Saying 5: Laziness and a love for sleep can lead to poverty (see Proverbs 10:4–5, 26; 12:11; 13:4; 15:19; 18:9; 19:15, 24; 20:4, 13).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 30-3130-31. A striking picture of the effects of sloth.Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 24:31

• Fence
• Idleness
• Instruction
• Nettles
• Slothfulness
• Vineyard
• Young Men

In the dictionaries

• Faint
• Gardens
• Nettle
• Respect
• Face
• Nettles
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Thorns, Thistles, Etc.
• Vine
• Agriculture

Commentaries on Proverbs 24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings