English Standard Version
Proverbs 10:4
4A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Proverbs 10:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
- New International Version (NIV)Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich.
Context of Proverbs 10:4
2Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. 3The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. 5He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame. 6Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
Read all of Proverbs 10Proverbs 10:4 word by word
רָ֗אשׁ עֹשֶׂ֥ה כַף־רְמִיָּ֑ה וְיַ֖ד חָרוּצִ֣ים תַּעֲשִֽׁיר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 10:4
- Proverbs 6:6Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
- Proverbs 11:24One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
- Proverbs 12:24The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor.
- Proverbs 19:15Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.
- Proverbs 20:4The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.
- Proverbs 24:30I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
- Ecclesiastes 10:18Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks.
- John 6:27Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal."
- Hebrews 6:11And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,
- 2 Peter 1:5For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
- Proverbs 13:4The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
- Proverbs 21:5The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
- 1 Corinthians 15:58Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Commentaries on Proverbs 10:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4He becometh poor - God has ordered, in the course of his providence, that he who will not work shall not eat. And he always blesses the work of the industrious man.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Slack - The word is elsewhere translated as “deceitful” Job 13:7; Psalm 120:2-3; Hosea 7:16; Jeremiah 48:10. The two thoughts run easily into each other.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4Verse 4 Those who are fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, are likely to be rich in faith, and rich in good works.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5Lazy people make unwise choices, but hard workers make wise decisions (see also Proverbs 10:26; 26:13–16).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. slack--literally, "deceitful," failing of its purpose (compare Ho 7:16). maketh rich--(compare Pr 10:22).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 10:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 10
- 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries