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 the same thing that he did to me. I will punish him because of what he did.’ 30I walked past the field of a lazy person. And I walked past the vineyard of a stupid person. There were weeds and thorn bushes over all the ground. The wall of stones round the field had fallen down. 32I looked at this and I thought about it carefully. I learned a lesson from the things that I had seen: 33You may say, ‘I will have a short sleep. I will rest quietly for a while.’

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 God said to Adam, ‘You listened to your wife and you did what she said. You ate fruit from the tree after I told you, “You must not eat fruit from this tree.” Because you did that, I will curse the ground. You will have to work very hard to make plants grow in it for your food. It will be like this for your whole life.
• Job 31:40If I have ever done any of those things, then may thorn bushes grow in my fields instead of wheat. May weeds grow in my fields instead of barley.’ That is the end of the things that Job said.
• Jeremiah 4:3The Lord says this to the people of Jerusalem and all Judah: ‘Prepare yourselves, like a farmer who ploughs his fields. Do not plant your seeds where weeds are growing.
• Matthew 13:7Some other seeds fell among thorn bushes. Those bushes grew up with the young plants. They stopped the seeds from growing into strong plants.
• Hebrews 6:8But a field where only weeds and thorn bushes grow is worth nothing. God will very soon speak against that ground. In the end, fire will burn all of it.
• Proverbs 19:23If you respect and obey the Lord, you will enjoy life. You will have peace in your mind and no trouble will destroy you.
• Proverbs 20:4A lazy farmer does not plough his fields in winter. As a result, he has nothing to eat when harvest time arrives.
• Proverbs 22:13A lazy person stays in his house. He says, ‘There is a lion outside in the street! If I go out, it will kill me!’
• Proverbs 23:21People who are like that soon become poor. They sleep too much, and their clothes have holes in them.
• Ecclesiastes 10:18If a man is too lazy to work on his house, its roof will fall down. Rain will make his rooms wet.

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