¹ sn The sluggard (<span class="hebrew">עָצֵלspan>, <span class="translit">ʿatselspan>) is the lazy or sluggish person (cf. NCV “lazy person,” and NRSV and NLT “lazybones”).

¹ tn <i>Hebi> “the desire of the sluggard” (so ASV, NASB). This phrase features a subject genitive: “what the sluggard desires.” The term <span class="hebrew">תַּאֲוַתspan> (<span class="translit">taʾavatspan>, “desire; craving”) is a metonymy of cause. The craving itself will not destroy the sluggard, but what will destroy him is what the craving causes him to do or not to do. The lazy come to ruin because they desire the easy way out.

³ sn The proverb is stating that the sluggard is too lazy to eat; this is essentially the same point made in <data ref="Bible:Pr 19:24">19:24data> (see the note there).

¹ sn The use of the two rhetorical questions is designed to rebuke the lazy person in a forceful manner. The sluggard is spending too much time sleeping.

³ tn <i>Hebi> “in the broad plazas”; NAB, NASB “in the square.” This proverb makes the same point as <data ref="Bible:Pr 22:13">22:13data>, namely, that the sluggard uses absurd excuses to get out of work. D. Kidner notes that in this situation the sluggard has probably convinced himself that he is a realist and not a lazy person (<i>Proverbsi> [TOTC], 163).

¹ sn Qoheleth lists three approaches to labor: (1) the competitive workaholic in <data ref="Bible:Ecc 4:4">4:4data>, (2) the impoverished sluggard in <data ref="Bible:Ecc 4:5">4:5data>, and (3) the contented laborer in <data ref="Bible:Ecc 4:6">4:6data>. The balanced approach rebukes the two extremes.

¹ sn The Book of Fools covered vv. <data ref="Bible:Pr 26:1-12">1-12data>. This marks the beginning of what may be called the Book of Sluggards (vv. <data ref="Bible:Pr 26:13-16">13-16data>). Cf. this verse with <data ref="Bible:Pr 22:13">22:13data>.

² sn The contrast is between the “soul (= appetite) of the sluggard” (<span class="hebrew">נַפְשׁוֹ עָצֵלspan>, <span class="translit">nafsho ʿatselspan>) and the “soul (= desire) of the diligent” (<span class="hebrew">נֶפֶשׁ חָרֻצִיםspan>, <span class="translit">nefesh kharutsimspan>)—what they each long for.

¹ sn The writer might in this verse be imitating the words of the sluggard who just wants to take “a little nap.” The use is ironic, for by indulging in this little rest the lazy one comes to ruin.

² tn The verb <span class="hebrew">נִלְאָהspan> (<span class="translit">nilʾahspan>) is a Niphal perfect of the root <span class="hebrew">לָאָהspan> (<span class="translit">laʾahspan>) “to be/grow weary.” The Niphal is typically reflexive, “to wear oneself out.” Since the sluggard has not worked, the choice of this verb sounds like a jest. Perhaps it should be understood that, for the sluggard, merely reaching to the bowl is such effort as to become (or feel) to weary to bring his hand back.

² sn The sluggard is too lazy to get out of bed—although he would probably rationalize this by saying that he is not at his best in the morning. The humor of the verse is based on an analogy with a door—it moves back and forth on its hinges but goes nowhere. Like the door to the wall, the sluggard is “hinged” to his bed (e.g., <data ref="Bible:Pr 6:9-10">Prov 6:9-10data>; <data ref="Bible:Pr 24:33">24:33data>).

² tn The verb <span class="hebrew">אָמַרspan> (<span class="translit">ʾamarspan>) can mean “to say” or “to think.” The proverb uses the Hebrew perfect form of the verb for the past tense, giving the reason the sluggard is still in the house rather than out working. It is an example of the sorts of excuses he has made.

⁵ sn The teacher makes several observations of the state of the sluggard that reveal that his continued laziness will result in poverty. The reminiscence used here may be a literary device to draw a fictional but characteristically true picture of the lazy person.

¹ tn The verb <span class="hebrew">אָמַרspan> (<span class="translit">ʾamarspan>) can mean “to say” or “to think.” The proverb uses the Hebrew perfect form of the verb for the past tense, giving the reason the sluggard is still in the house rather than out working. It is an example of the sorts of excuses he has made.

² sn The proverb humorously describes the sluggard as making ridiculous excuses for not working—he might be eaten by a lion (e.g., <data ref="Bible:Pr 26:13">26:13data>). It is possible that “lion” is figurative, intended to represent someone who is like a lion, but this detracts from the humor of the exaggeration.

³ tc The LXX changes the phrase to read “murderers in the street” to form a better parallelism, possibly because the verb <span class="hebrew">רָצַחspan> (<span class="translit">ratsakhspan>) is used only of humans, not wild animals. The NIV attempts to solve the problem by making the second line a separate claim by the sluggard: “or, ‘I will be murdered in the streets!’”

¹ tn <i>Hebi> The verb <span class="hebrew">תָּמַןspan> (<span class="translit">tamanspan>) means “to bury” (so many English versions) or “to hide” (so KJV). As the perfect form of a dynamic verb it should be understood as past or perfective. The proverb presents a scene where the sluggard has not just reached to the food in the dish but has buried his hand in it. The second comment reveals that this is not a frozen frame, but a continuing scene revealing the extent of his laziness.

² sn This humorous portrayal is an exaggeration, but the point is that laziness opposes common sense and can thwart basic needs. It would have a wider application for anyone who would start a project and then lack the interest or energy to finish it (R. N. Whybray, <i>Proverbsi> [CBC], 111). Ibn Ezra proposes that the dish was empty because the sluggard was too lazy to provide for himself.

¹ tn <i>Hebi> The verb <span class="hebrew">תָּמַןspan> (<span class="translit">tamanspan>) means “to bury” (so many English versions) or “to hide” (so KJV). As the perfect form of a dynamic verb it should be understood as past or perfective. The proverb presents a scene where the sluggard has not just reached to the food in the dish but buried his hand in it. The second comment reveals that this is not a frozen frame, but a continuing scene revealing the extent of his laziness.

³ tn The expression <span class="hebrew">וְנֶפֶשׁ רְמִיָּהspan> (<span class="translit">v<sup>esup>nefesh r<sup>esup>miyyahspan>) can be translated “the soul of deceit” or “the soul of slackness.” There are two identical feminine nouns, one from the verb “beguile,” and the other from a cognate Arabic root “grow loose.” The second is more likely here in view of the parallelism (cf. NIV “a shiftless man”; NAB “the sluggard”). One who is slack, that is, idle, will go hungry.