Proverbs 26:13
in Proverbs 26The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The sluggard saith, There is a lion in the way; A lion is in the streets.
KJV
The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
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This verse in Proverbs 26
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe sluggard says, A lion is in the way, etc. Many, when they hear words of exhortation, blame the devil, saying that they indeed wish to begin the path of righteousness, but are hindered by Satan so that they might not accomplish it; and thus, …
This site's exposition
There is a lion in the way
on Proverbs 26:13-16
Four proverbs on the sluggard, each a small comedy: the lion invented to keep him indoors, the door turning on its hinges as he turns on his bed, fixed to it and going nowhere, and the hand buried in the bosom that grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth. The last verse stops the laughter: the sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason, which hands him the verdict of verse 12. Laziness, the bench observes here, is finally a thinking problem, an unearned certainty that effort is for other people.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The slothful man saith,.... Within himself; or to such that excite him to diligence and industry, to go about the business of his calling, to till his field, and dress his vineyard.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Compare the marginal reference note. Here there is greater dramatic vividness in the two words used: (1) A roaring one, (2) a lion, more specifically.
The slothful man saith - See the note on Pro 22:13 (note).
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| עָ֭צֵל | ʾatzel | a sluggard | H6102 → | 14 times |
| שַׁ֣חַל | shachal | a lion | H7826 → | |
| בַּדָּ֑רֶךְ | badarekh | [is] in the road | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אֲ֝רִ֗י | ʾari | a lion | H738 → | 80 times |
| בֵּ֣ין | bein | [is] between | H996 → | 407 times |
| הָרְחֹבֽוֹת׃ | harechovot | the open places | H7339 → | 43 times |
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
עָ֭צֵלa sluggard
ʾatzelH6102 →14 times
שַׁ֣חַלa lion
shachalH7826 →
בַּדָּ֑רֶךְ[is] in the road
badarekhH1870 →707 times
אֲ֝רִ֗יa lion
ʾariH738 →80 times
בֵּ֣ין[is] between
beinH996 →407 times
הָרְחֹבֽוֹת׃the open places
harechovotH7339 →43 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 19:15Laziness brings on deep sleep, and an idle soul will suffer hunger.
it leads to
- Proverbs 23:21
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
- Proverbs 20:13
Do not love sleep, or you will grow poor; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of food.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:10
For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”
- Proverbs 6:9–10
How long will you lie there, O slacker? When will you get up from your sleep?
- Proverbs 24:33
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
- Proverbs 23:21
Through
Proverbs 22:13The slacker says, “There is a lion outside! I will be slain in the streets!”
it leads to
- Proverbs 26:13–16
The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”
- Proverbs 26:13–16
Through
Proverbs 15:19The way of the slacker is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.
it leads to
- Isaiah 35:8
And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.
- Proverbs 22:5
Thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse; he who guards his soul stays far from them.
- Isaiah 35:8
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); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.