Proverbs on Avoiding Laziness

Proverbs 6:6-11

Take a lesson from the ants, you lazy-bones. Learn from their ways and be wise! Even though they have no prints, governor, or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazy-bones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? I want you to learn this lesson: A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

 Proverbs 10:4

Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich.

Proverbs 10:26

Lazy people are a pain to their employer. They are like smoke in the eyes or vinegar that sets the teeth on edge.

Proverbs 12:24

Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave.

Proverbs 12:27

Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch, but the diligent make use of everything they find.

Proverbs 13:4

Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper and be satisfied.

Proverbs 15:19

A lazy person has trouble all through life; the path of the upright is easy!

Proverbs 19:15

A lazy person sleeps soundly – and goes hungry.

Proverbs 19:24

Some people are so lazy that they won’t even lift a finger to feed themselves.

Proverbs 20:4

If you are too lazy to plow in the right season, you will have no food at the harvest.

Proverbs 21:25

The desires of lazy people will be their ruin, for their hands refuse to work. They are always greedy for more, while the godly love to give!

Proverbs 22:13

The lazy person is full of excuses, saying, “If I go outside, I might meet a lion in the street and be killed!”

Proverbs 24:30-34

I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one lacking sense. I saw that it was overgrown with thorns. It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down. Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson: A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

Proverbs 26:13

The lazy person is full of excuses, saying, “I can’t go outside because there might be a lion on the road! Yes, I am sure there is a lion out there!”

 Proverbs 26:14

As a door turns back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed.

Proverbs 26:15

Some people are so lazy that they won’t lift a finger to feed themselves.

Proverbs 26:16

Lazy people consider themselves smarter than seven wise counselors.