Proverbs 26:13

The sluggard ¹  says, “There is a lion in the road! A lion in the streets!” ² 

The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!"

The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road! A lion is in the open square!"

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

Loafers say, "It's dangerous out there! Tigers are prowling the streets!" and then pull the covers back over their heads.

The hater of work says, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.

The lazy person says, "There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!"

The lazy man says, " There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!"

The sluggard ¹  says, “There is a lion in the road! A lion in the streets!” ² 

¹ sn The Book of Fools covered vv. 1-12. This marks the beginning of what may be called the Book of Sluggards (vv. 13-16).

² tn Heb “in the broad plazas”; NAB, NASB “in the square.” This proverb makes the same point as 22:13, 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 (Proverbs [TOTC], 163).