Proverbs 21:5
in Proverbs 21The plans of the diligent bring plenty, as surely as haste leads to poverty.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; But every one that is hasty hasteth only to want.
KJV
The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.
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This verse in Proverbs 21
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
The plans of the diligent bring plenty
on Proverbs 21:5-7
"The plans of the diligent bring plenty, as surely as haste leads to poverty," setting patience against haste. Making a fortune by a lying tongue is "a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit," wealth that does not profit the man who lied for it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Here diligence is opposed, not to sloth but to haste. Undue hurry is as fatal to success as undue procrastination.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מַחְשְׁב֣וֹת | machshevot | [the] plans of | H4284 → | 56 times |
| חָ֭רוּץ | charutz | a diligent [person] | H2742 → | 19 times |
| אַךְ־ | ʾakh- | only | H389 → | 161 times |
| לְמוֹתָ֑ר | lemotar | to advantage | H4195 → | |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אָ֝֗ץ | ʾatz | hasty [person] | H213 → | 10 times |
| אַךְ־ | ʾakh- | only | H389 → | 161 times |
| לְמַחְסֽוֹר׃ | lemachsor | to poverty | H4270 → | 13 times |
מַחְשְׁב֣וֹת[the] plans of
machshevotH4284 →56 times
חָ֭רוּץa diligent [person]
charutzH2742 →19 times
אַךְ־only
ʾakh-H389 →161 times
לְמוֹתָ֑רto advantage
lemotarH4195 →
וְכָל־and every
vekholH3605 →5413 times
אָ֝֗ץhasty [person]
ʾatzH213 →10 times
אַךְ־only
ʾakh-H389 →161 times
לְמַחְסֽוֹר׃to poverty
lemachsorH4270 →13 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 13:4The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.
it leads to
- Proverbs 12:24
The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 12:24
Through
Ephesians 4:28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 6:18
Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,
- 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12
and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.
- Galatians 6:10
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.
- Exodus 20:15
You shall not steal.
- 1 Timothy 6:18
Through
Proverbs 10:4Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:15
Laziness brings on deep sleep, and an idle soul will suffer hunger.
- Proverbs 20:4
The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.
- Proverbs 13:4
The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.
- Proverbs 19:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.