Proverbs 22:13

Proverbs 22:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.
• New International Version (NIV)The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside! I’ll be killed in the public square!”
• English Standard Version (ESV)The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!"
• New King James Version (NKJV)The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!”

Context of Proverbs 22:13

11The one who loves a pure heart and gracious lips — the king is his friend. 12The Lord’s eyes keep watch over knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the treacherous. The slacker says, “There’s a lion outside! I’ll be killed in the public square!” 14The mouth of the forbidden woman is a deep pit; a man cursed by the Lord will fall into it. 15Foolishness is bound to the heart of a youth; a rod of discipline will separate it from him.

Proverbs 22:13 word by word

אָמַ֣ר עָ֭צֵל אֲרִ֣י בַח֑וּץ בְּת֥וֹךְ רְ֝חֹב֗וֹת אֵֽרָצֵֽחַ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The slothfulעָצֵל‛âtsêl · sluggishH6102
• saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• a lionאֲרִי'ărîy 'aryêh · lionH738
• withoutחוּץchûts chûts · outsideH2351
• I shall be slainרָצַחrâtsach · to murderH7523
• inתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• the streetsרְחוֹבrechôb rechôb · street/plazaH7339

Cross-references for Proverbs 22:13

• Proverbs 15:19A slacker’s way is like a thorny hedge, but the path of the upright is a highway.
• Proverbs 26:13The slacker says, “There’s a lion in the road — a lion in the public square!”
• Numbers 13:32So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size.

Commentaries on Proverbs 22:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13The slothful man saith, There is a lion without - But why does he say so? Because he is a slothful man. Remove his slothfulness, and these imaginary difficulties and dangers will be no more. He will not go abroad to work in the fields, because he thinks there is a lion in the way, he will not go out into the town for employment, as he fears to be assassinated in the streets! From both these circumstances he seeks total cessation from activity.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13The point of the satire is the ingenuity with which the slothful man devises the most improbable alarms. He hears that “there is a lion without,” i. e., in the broad open country; he is afraid of being slain in the very streets of the city.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13Verse 13 The slothful man talks of a lion without, but considers not his real danger from the devil, that roaring lion within, and from his own slothfulness, which kills him.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13Among the many proverbs about laziness (Proverbs 10:4–6, 26; 12:11; 13:4; 14:4; 15:19; 18:9; 19:15, 24; 20:4, 13; 21:25; 26:13), this one is the funniest. Lazy people will invent any wild excuse to avoid working.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. Frivolous excuses satisfy the indolent man's conscience.Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 22:13

• Idleness
• Lion
• Slothfulness

In the dictionaries

• Evil
• Hide
• Lender
• Prudent
• Rob
• Train
• Proverb
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Sirach, the Alphabet of
• Lion

Commentaries on Proverbs 22

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings