12 Heb “a palm of slackness.” The genitive noun רְמִיָּה (remiyyah, “slackness”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a slack palm” ( 941 ). The term כַף (khaf, “palm”) is a synecdoche of part (= palm) for the whole person (= one who works with his hands). The hand is emphasized because it is the instrument of physical labor. The “slack hand” is contrasted with the “diligent hand.” A slack hand refers to a lazy worker or careless work that such hands produce. See N. C. Habel, “Wisdom, Wealth, and Poverty Paradigms in the Book of Proverbs,” 14 (1988): 28–49.
13 The reads רָאשׁ (ra’sh, “poor”) which is the plene spelling of רָשׁ (rash, “poor [person]”; רֵישׁ). Both and reflect an alternate vocalization רִישׁ (rish, “poverty”) which is from the same root, and essentially means the same thing. Heb “causes poverty.” The expression is literally, “the palm of slackness causes poverty.”
14 Heb “but the hand of the diligent” (so , , , ). The genitive noun חָרוּצִים (kharutsim, “diligence”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a diligent hand.” The noun חָרוּצִים (kharutsim) uses the plural form because the plural is often used for abstract moral qualities. The term יָד (yad, “hand”) is a synecdoche of part (= “hand”) for the whole person (= “the one who works with his hands”). The hand is emphasized because it is the instrument of physical labor.
15 Heb “makes rich” (so , ). The Hiphil verb is used in a causative sense; literally, “the hand of the diligent makes rich.”