Proverbs 26:15
The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.
– Proverbs 26:15
The third saying is very close to Proverbs 19:24. The word for grieveth means weary or tiring. The image exaggerates laziness to the point the sluggard is too lazy to lift his hand to his mouth to eat. Kidner pointed out the sluggard’s objection to being hurried in regard to this saying.
Proverbs 26:14
As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.
– Proverbs 26:14
The second saying gives the image of a hinged door as apt to depict the slothful upon his bed. A door is fastened to the post with hinges so it can swing back and forth, but it does not move out of its place. The sluggard is similarly hinged to his bed, so he does not get up and get to work. Proverbs marks a sluggard as one over-indulging in sleep and rest (Proverbs 6:9-10; 24:33). This group of sayings highlights the sluggard’s rationalizations and Kidner here points out the lazy often say they are not at their “best in the morning.”
Proverbs 26:13
The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
– Proverbs 26:13
Verses 13-16 form a group of sayings about sluggards, or slothful men. All together they provide a picture of either self-deception, or at least a lack of self-awareness. A sluggard never thinks he is lazy, but rather has answers for all challenges to his lack of proper action and work. This saying echoes Proverbs 22:13, where the sluggard cannot go out to work because the possibility of a lion in the streets. Kidner pointed out this excuse makes the sluggard a “realist” in his own mind. He doesn’t think he is lazy but rather he is pragmatic.This saying relates to the thinking of a person who will not start to work because of the all the difficulties. Whatever project is suggested, they persist in pointing out all the obstacles and difficulties. Merely pointing out a difficulty is sufficient reason to never tackle the project.
Proverbs 26:16
Posted by Jeff Short on October 24, 2018 · Leave a Comment
The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.
– Proverbs 26:16
This group of sluggard sayings finishes with a saying that gets at the root of the lazy man’s problems. He is wise in “his own conceit,” or in his own eyes. The word for reason means taste, or judgment. It has been translated as discretion and understanding. The word refers to what we might call good sense. The number seven is in excess of the two or three witnesses in the law and the excess points to the fact that their reason is established, true, and reliable. The sluggard will not receive it, but thinks he is smarter than all who disagree with him. In the face of hard truth, he persists in his own judgment. The lazy man or woman has a stubborn pride that clings to their own excuses and rationalizations as to why they do not work.Share this:
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