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100 Bible Verses about Being Lazy

Proverbs 18:9 ESV / 191 helpful votes

Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.

Proverbs 13:4 ESV / 133 helpful votes

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

Proverbs 10:4-5 ESV / 102 helpful votes

A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.

Proverbs 21:25 ESV / 88 helpful votes

The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.

Proverbs 6:6-11 ESV / 87 helpful votes

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, ...

Proverbs 19:15 ESV / 66 helpful votes

Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.

Matthew 25:14-30 ESV / 55 helpful votes

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. ...

Proverbs 12:24 ESV / 51 helpful votes

The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 ESV / 44 helpful votes

For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

Matthew 7:21-23 ESV / 27 helpful votes

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Mark 2:27 ESV / 25 helpful votes

And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Proverbs 6:6 ESV / 25 helpful votes

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.

Ephesians 6:11-18 ESV / 22 helpful votes

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ...

Proverbs 10:4 ESV / 21 helpful votes

A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

1 Corinthians 9:26 ESV / 20 helpful votes

So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.

Colossians 3:23 ESV / 19 helpful votes

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

Psalm 119:44-47 ESV / 19 helpful votes

I will keep your law continually, forever and ever, and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts. I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame, for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love.

Hebrews 6:12 ESV / 18 helpful votes

So that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Isaiah 11:4-12 ESV / 16 helpful votes

But with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. ...

Proverbs 20:4 ESV / 16 helpful votes

The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.

Genesis 2:1-25 ESV / 16 helpful votes

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, ...

Luke 19:17 ESV / 15 helpful votes

And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’

Proverbs 12:27 ESV / 15 helpful votes

Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth.

James 4:17 ESV / 14 helpful votes

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

1 Timothy 5:8 ESV / 14 helpful votes

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Romans 12:11 ESV / 14 helpful votes

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 10:18 ESV / 14 helpful votes

Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks.

2 Thessalonians 3:11-12 ESV / 13 helpful votes

For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 ESV / 13 helpful votes

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ...

Proverbs 26:1-28 ESV / 13 helpful votes

Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool. Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight. A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools. Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. ...

Proverbs 21:5 ESV / 13 helpful votes

The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.

Proverbs 14:23 ESV / 13 helpful votes

In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.

Proverbs 20:13 ESV / 12 helpful votes

Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.

Proverbs 6:9-11 ESV / 12 helpful votes

How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

Matthew 25:34 ESV / 11 helpful votes

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Proverbs 24:30-34 ESV / 11 helpful votes

I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

Proverbs 3:1-2 ESV / 11 helpful votes

My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.

John 5:17 ESV / 10 helpful votes

But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Proverbs 10:5 ESV / 10 helpful votes

He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.

Genesis 2:15 ESV / 10 helpful votes

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 ESV / 9 helpful votes

And to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 ESV / 8 helpful votes

For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

Colossians 3:23-24 ESV / 8 helpful votes

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Matthew 25:26 ESV / 8 helpful votes

But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed?

Proverbs 22:13 ESV / 8 helpful votes

The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!”

Proverbs 12:11 ESV / 8 helpful votes

Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.

James 1:22 ESV / 7 helpful votes

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

1 Thessalonians 4:11 ESV / 7 helpful votes

And to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,

Philippians 2:12-30 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ...

Ephesians 4:28 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

John 9:4 ESV / 7 helpful votes

We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

Proverbs 26:13 ESV / 7 helpful votes

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

Proverbs 10:2-7 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame. Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. ...

Hebrews 6:10 ESV / 6 helpful votes

For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.

Ephesians 5:15-17 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Ephesians 2:10 ESV / 6 helpful votes

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Jeremiah 48:10-36 ESV / 6 helpful votes

“Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed. “Moab has been at ease from his youth and has settled on his dregs; he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile; so his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed. “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his jars in pieces. Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence. “How do you say, ‘We are heroes and mighty men of war’? ...

Ecclesiastes 9:10 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

Proverbs 26:13-16 ESV / 6 helpful votes

The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!” As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth. The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.

Proverbs 22:29 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Hebrews 13:16 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Philippians 1:6 ESV / 5 helpful votes

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 25:25-26 ESV / 5 helpful votes

So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed?

Isaiah 11:9 ESV / 5 helpful votes

They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Ecclesiastes 4:5 ESV / 5 helpful votes

The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.

Proverbs 15:19 ESV / 5 helpful votes

The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.

Proverbs 15:14-16:33 ESV / 5 helpful votes

The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly. All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast. Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it. A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. ...

Proverbs 10:26 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.

James 2:26 ESV / 4 helpful votes

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

2 Timothy 2:15 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Colossians 3:17 ESV / 4 helpful votes

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 1:10 ESV / 4 helpful votes

So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Luke 16:10 ESV / 4 helpful votes

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

Proverbs 31:19 ESV / 4 helpful votes

She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.

Proverbs 31:13 ESV / 4 helpful votes

She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.

Proverbs 26:14 ESV / 4 helpful votes

As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed.

Proverbs 24:31 ESV / 4 helpful votes

And behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.

Proverbs 24:30 ESV / 4 helpful votes

I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,

Proverbs 19:24 ESV / 4 helpful votes

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth.

Proverbs 6:6-8 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.

Revelation 1:1-20 ESV / 3 helpful votes

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood ...

James 2:18 ESV / 3 helpful votes

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

Hebrews 2:1-3 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV / 3 helpful votes

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

2 Thessalonians 3:11 ESV / 3 helpful votes

For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.

Colossians 1:1-29 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, ...

Matthew 25:24-30 ESV / 3 helpful votes

He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. ...

Matthew 7:23 ESV / 3 helpful votes

And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Matthew 7:21 ESV / 3 helpful votes

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 7:12 ESV / 3 helpful votes

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Proverbs 26:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes

The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.

Proverbs 26:15 ESV / 3 helpful votes

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.

Proverbs 6:8 ESV / 3 helpful votes

She prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.

Proverbs 4:23 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 22:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 3:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Genesis 3:17-19 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

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