New International Version
Proverbs 18:9
9One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.
Proverbs 18:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.
- New Living Translation (NLT)A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things.
Context of Proverbs 18:9
7The mouths of fools are their undoing, and their lips are a snare to their very lives. 8The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys. 10The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. 11The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale.
Read all of Proverbs 18Proverbs 18:9 word by word
גַּ֭ם מִתְרַפֶּ֣ה בִמְלַאכְתּ֑וֹ אָ֥ח ה֝֗וּא לְבַ֣עַל מַשְׁחִֽית׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 18:9
- Proverbs 10:4Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.
- Proverbs 23:20Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat,
- Proverbs 24:30I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
- Matthew 25:26“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?
- Romans 12:11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
- Hebrews 6:12We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
- Proverbs 28:24Whoever robs their father or mother and says, “It’s not wrong,” is partner to one who destroys.
- Job 30:29I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of owls.
- Luke 15:13“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
- Luke 16:1Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.
Commentaries on Proverbs 18:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9He also that is slothful - A slothful man neglects his work, and the materials go to ruin: the master, he destroys the materials. They are both destroyers.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9Verse 9 Omissions of duty, and in duty, are fatal to the soul, as well as commissions of sin.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. One by failing to get, the other by wasting wealth, grows poor. waster--literally, "master of washing," a prodigal.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 18:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 18
- 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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries