Proverbs 24:27–34
27 Put your outdoor work in order
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.
28 Do not testify against your neighbor without causev—
would you use your lips to mislead?
29 Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me;
I’ll pay them back for what they did.”w
30 I went past the field of a sluggard,x
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
31 thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
32 I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to resty—
34 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.z
Proverbs 24:27–34 — English Standard Version (ESV)
27 Prepare your work outside;
get everything ready for yourself in the field,
and after that build your house.
28 Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause,
and do not deceive with your lips.
29 Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;
I will pay the man back for what he has done.”
30 I passed by the field of a sluggard,
by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw and considered it;
I looked and received instruction.
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
Proverbs 24:27–34 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
27 Prepare thy work without,
And make it fit for thyself in the field;
And afterwards build thine house.
28 Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause;
And deceive not with thy lips.
29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me:
I will render to the man according to his work.
30 I went by the field of the slothful,
And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns,
And nettles had covered the face thereof,
And the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32 Then I saw, and considered it well:
I looked upon it, and received instruction.
33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep:
34 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth;
And thy want as an armed man.
Proverbs 24:27–34 — New Living Translation (NLT)
27 Do your planning and prepare your fields
before building your house.
28 Don’t testify against your neighbors without cause;
don’t lie about them.
29 And don’t say, “Now I can pay them back for what they’ve done to me!
I’ll get even with them!”
30 I walked by the field of a lazy person,
the vineyard of one with no common sense.
31 I saw that it was overgrown with nettles.
It was covered with weeds,
and its walls were broken down.
32 Then, as I looked and thought about it,
I learned this lesson:
33 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
34 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
Proverbs 24:27–34 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
27 Prepare your outside work,
Make it fit for yourself in the field;
And afterward build your house.
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
For would you deceive with your lips?
29 Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me;
I will render to the man according to his work.”
30 I went by the field of the lazy man,
And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;
31 And there it was, all overgrown with thorns;
Its surface was covered with nettles;
Its stone wall was broken down.
32 When I saw it, I considered it well;
I looked on it and received instruction:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest;
34 So shall your poverty come like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.
Proverbs 24:27–34 — New Century Version (NCV)
27 First, finish your outside work
and prepare your fields.
After that, you can build your house.
28 Don’t testify against your neighbor for no good reason.
Don’t say things that are false.
29 Don’t say, “I’ll get even;
I’ll do to him what he did to me.”
30 I passed by a lazy person’s field
and by the vineyard of someone with no sense.
31 Thorns had grown up everywhere.
The ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone walls had fallen down.
32 I thought about what I had seen;
I learned this lesson from what I saw.
33 You sleep a little; you take a nap.
You fold your hands and lie down to rest.
34 Soon you will be as poor as if you had been robbed;
you will have as little as if you had been held up.
Proverbs 24:27–34 — American Standard Version (ASV)
27 Prepare thy work without,
And make it ready for thee in the field;
And afterwards build thy house.
28 Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause;
And deceive not with thy lips.
29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me;
I will render to the man according to his work.
30 I went by the field of the sluggard,
And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns,
The face thereof was covered with nettles,
And the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32 Then I beheld, and considered well;
I saw, and received instruction:
33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep;
34 So shall thy poverty come as a robber,
And thy want as an armed man.
Proverbs 24:27–34 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
27 Prepare thy work without, and put thy field in order, and afterwards build thy house.
28 Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and wouldest thou deceive with thy lips? 29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me, I will render to the man according to his work.
30 I went by the field of a sluggard, and by the vineyard of a man void of understanding; 31 and lo, it was all grown over with thistles, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and its stone wall was broken down. 32 Then I looked, I took it to heart; I saw, I received instruction: 33 —A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest! 34 So shall thy poverty come as a roving plunderer, and thy penury as an armed man.
Proverbs 24:27–34 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
27 Prepare your work outside, and get things ready for yourself in the field.
Afterwards, build your house.
28 Do not testify against your neighbor without a reason,
and do not deceive with your lips.
29 Do not say,
“I’ll treat him as he treated me.
I’ll pay him back for what he has done to me.”
30 I passed by a lazy person’s field,
the vineyard belonging to a person without sense.
31 I saw that it was all overgrown with thistles.
The ground was covered with weeds,
and its stone fence was torn down.
32 When I observed ⸤this⸥, I took it to heart.
I saw it and learned my lesson.
33 “Just a little sleep,
just a little slumber,
just a little nap.”
34 Then your poverty will come like a drifter,
and your need will come like a bandit.
Proverbs 24:27–34 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
27 Complete your outdoor work, and prepare your field;
afterward, build your house.
28 Don’t testify against your neighbor without cause.
Don’t deceive with your lips.
29 Don’t say, “I’ll do to him what he did to me;
I’ll repay the man for what he has done.”
30 I went by the field of a slacker
and by the vineyard of a man lacking sense.
31 Thistles had come up everywhere,
weeds covered the ground,
and the stone wall was ruined.
32 I saw, and took it to heart;
I looked, and received instruction:
33 a little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest,
34 and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit.
Proverbs 24:27–34 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
27 Prepare your work outside,
get everything ready for you in the field;
and after that build your house.
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
and do not deceive with your lips.
29 Do not say, “I will do to others as they have done to me;
I will pay them back for what they have done.”
30 I passed by the field of one who was lazy,
by the vineyard of a stupid person;
31 and see, it was all overgrown with thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw and considered it;
I looked and received instruction.
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want, like an armed warrior.
Proverbs 24:27–34 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
27 Prepare your work in the street and get it ready for yourself in the field;
afterward, then you shall build your house.
28 Do not be a witness without cause against your neighbor
nor deceive with your lips.
29 Do not say, “Just as he has done to me, so shall I do to him;
I will pay back the man according to his deed.”
30 I passed by the field of a lazy person,
and over the vineyard of a person lacking sense;
31 and behold, it was overgrown—all of it was covered with thorns, its surface with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I myself saw and my heart considered;
I looked, and I took hold of instruction:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands for rest,
34 and your poverty will come running,
and your lack like an armed warrior.
Proverbs 24:27–34 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
27 Finish your outdoor work.
Get your fields ready.
After that, build your house.
28 Don’t give witness against your neighbor without any reason.
Don’t use your lips to tell lies.
29 Don’t say, “I’ll do to him what he did to me.
I’ll get even with that man for what he did.”
30 I went past the field of someone who didn’t want to work.
I went past the vineyard of a man who didn’t have any sense.
31 Thorns had grown up everywhere.
The ground was covered with weeds.
The stone wall had fallen down.
32 I applied my heart to what I observed.
I learned a lesson from what I saw.
33 You might sleep a little or take a little nap.
You might even fold your hands and rest.
34 Then you would be poor, as if someone had robbed you.
You would have little, as if someone had stolen from you.
Proverbs 24:27–34 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
27 Prepare your work outside
And make it ready for yourself in the field;
Afterwards, then, build your house.
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
And do not deceive with your lips.
29 Do not say, “Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me;
I will render to the man according to his work.”
30 I passed by the field of the sluggard
And by the vineyard of the man lacking sense,
31 And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles;
Its surface was covered with nettles,
And its stone wall was broken down.
32 When I saw, I reflected upon it;
I looked, and received instruction.
33 “A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest,”
34 Then your poverty will come as a robber
And your want like an armed man.