English Standard Version
Proverbs 20:4
4The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.
Proverbs 20:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
- New International Version (NIV)Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The lazy man will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and have nothing.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.
Context of Proverbs 20:4
2The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life. 3It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling. The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing. 5The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. 6Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?
Read all of Proverbs 20Proverbs 20:4 word by word
מֵ֭חֹרֶף עָצֵ֣ל לֹא־יַחֲרֹ֑שׁ וְשָׁאַ֖ל בַּקָּצִ֣יר וָאָֽיִן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 20:4
- Proverbs 10:4A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
- Proverbs 19:15Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.
- Proverbs 26:13The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!"
- Proverbs 6:10A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
- Proverbs 24:34and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
- Matthew 25:3For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
- 2 Peter 1:5For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
Commentaries on Proverbs 20:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The sluggard will not plough - For other parts of this character, see the preceding chapter, Proverbs 19 (note). It is seldom that there is a season of very cold weather in Palestine; very cold days sometimes occur, with wind, rain, and sleet. They begin their ploughing in the latter end of September, and sow their early wheat by the middle of October. And this is often the case in England itself. The meaning of the proverb is: the slothful man, under the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Plowing time in Palestine is in November and December, when the wind blows commonly from the North.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4Verse 4 He who labours and endures hardship in his seed-time for eternity, will be properly diligent as to his earthly business.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. shall ... beg--literally, "ask" (in this sense, Psa 109:10).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 20:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 20
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries