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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Ecclesiastes 10:18

A shiftless man lives in a tumbledown shack; A lazy woman ends up with a leaky roof.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Idleness;   Slothfulness;   Thompson Chain Reference - Business Life;   Family;   Home;   Slothfulness;   Trouble;   Vices;   The Topic Concordance - Laziness;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Idleness and Sloth;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Work;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Idle;   Poetry;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ecclesiastes;   House;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Decay;   Drop, Dropping;   Idle;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Didascalia;   Euphemism;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for August 17;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Because of laziness the roof caves in,and because of negligent hands the house leaks.
Hebrew Names Version
By slothfulness the roof sinks in; And through idleness of the hands the house leaks.
King James Version
By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
English Standard Version
Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks.
New American Standard Bible
Through extreme laziness the rafters sag, and through idleness the house leaks.
New Century Version
If someone is lazy, the roof will begin to fall. If he doesn't fix it, the house will leak.
Amplified Bible
Through laziness the rafters [of state affairs] decay and the roof sags, and through idleness [the roof of] the house leaks.
World English Bible
By slothfulness the roof sinks in; And through idleness of the hands the house leaks.
Geneva Bible (1587)
By slouthfulnes the roofe of the house goeth to decaie, and by the ydlenesse of the handes the house droppeth through.
Legacy Standard Bible
Through indolence the beams sag, and through slack hands the house leaks.
Berean Standard Bible
Through laziness the roof caves in, and in the hands of the idle, the house leaks.
Contemporary English Version
Some people are too lazy to fix a leaky roof— then the house falls in.
Complete Jewish Bible
When the owner is lazy, the roof sags; when hands are idle, the house leaks.
Darby Translation
By much sloth fulness the framework falleth in; and through idleness of the hands the house drippeth.
Easy-to-Read Version
If someone is too lazy to work, their house will begin to leak, and the roof will fall in.
George Lamsa Translation
By slothfulness a roof shall be brought down; and through idleness of hands water drips through.
Good News Translation
When you are too lazy to repair your roof, it will leak, and the house will fall in.
Lexham English Bible
Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through idleness of hands the house leaks.
Literal Translation
The framework tumbles through laziness; and through lowering of hands, the house leaks.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thorow slouthfulnesse the balkes fall downe, and thorow ydle hades it rayneth in at the house.
American Standard Version
By slothfulness the roof sinketh in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaketh.
Bible in Basic English
When no work is done the roof goes in, and when the hands do nothing water comes into the house.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
By slothfulness the rafters sink in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaketh.
King James Version (1611)
By much slouthfulnesse the building decayeth; and through idlenesse of the hands the house droppeth through.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thorowe slouthfulnesse the balkes fall downe, and thorowe idle handes it rayneth in at the house.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
By slothful neglect a building will be brought low: and by idleness of the hands the house will fall to pieces.
English Revised Version
By slothfulness the roof sinketh in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaketh.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
The hiynesse of housis schal be maad low in slouthis; and the hous schal droppe in the feblenesse of hondis.
Update Bible Version
By slothfulness the roof sinks in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaks.
Webster's Bible Translation
By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
New English Translation
Because of laziness the roof caves in, and because of idle hands the house leaks.
New King James Version
Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks.
New Living Translation
Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house.
New Life Bible
When men are lazy, the roof begins to fall in. When they will do no work, the rain comes into the house.
New Revised Standard
Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
By two lazy arms, the framework sinketh in, - and, by the hanging down of the hands, the house may leak.
Douay-Rheims Bible
By slothfulness a building shall be brought down, and through the weakness of hands, the house shall drop through.
Revised Standard Version
Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks.
Young's Literal Translation
By slothfulness is the wall brought low, And by idleness of the hands doth the house drop.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks.

Contextual Overview

16Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup, And whose princes party all night. Lucky the land whose king is mature, Where the princes behave themselves And don't drink themselves silly. 18 A shiftless man lives in a tumbledown shack; A lazy woman ends up with a leaky roof. 19 Laughter and bread go together, And wine gives sparkle to life— But it's money that makes the world go around. 20 Don't bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath, And don't abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home. Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around. Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Proverbs 12:24, Proverbs 14:1, Proverbs 20:4, Proverbs 21:25, Proverbs 23:21, Proverbs 24:30, Proverbs 24:31, Hebrews 6:11, 2 Peter 1:5-10

Reciprocal: Proverbs 10:4 - becometh Amos 6:11 - breaches

Cross-References

2 Samuel 8:9
Toi, king of Hamath, heard that David had struck down the entire army of Hadadezer. So he sent his son Joram to King David to greet and congratulate him for fighting and defeating them, for Toi and Hadadezer were old enemies. He brought with him gifts of silver, gold, and bronze. King David consecrated these along with the silver and gold from all the nations he had conquered—from Aram, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and from Amalek, along with the plunder from Hadadezer son of Rehob king of Zobah.
2 Kings 17:24
The king of Assyria brought in people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and relocated them in the towns of Samaria, replacing the exiled Israelites. They moved in as if they owned the place and made themselves at home. When the Assyrians first moved in, God was just another god to them; they neither honored nor worshiped him. Then God sent lions among them and people were mauled and killed.
2 Chronicles 13:4
Abijah took a prominent position on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and gave this speech: "Listen, Jeroboam and all Israel! Don't you realize that God , the one and only God of Israel, established David and his sons as the permanent rulers of Israel, ratified by a ‘covenant of salt'— God 's kingdom ruled by God 's king? And what happened? Jeroboam, the son of Solomon's slave Nebat, rebelled against his master. All the riffraff joined his cause and were too much for Rehoboam, Solomon's true heir. Rehoboam didn't know his way around—besides he was a real wimp; he couldn't stand up against them.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

By much slothfulness the building decayeth,.... Or, "by slothfulnesses" g, The word is in the dual number, and so may signify the slothfulness of the hands, as Aben Ezra, of both hands, and of both feet; or the various kinds of slothfulness, as the Arabic version, slothfulness both of body and mind; or of all sorts of persons, superiors and inferiors, princes and subjects; and with respect to all things present and future: and, as through slothfulness a material building decays; or a "beam", as the word signifies, the raftering of a house, the roof, which consists of rafters and beams joined together when the tiling is decayed by winds and rains, or any breaches made in the rafters, and no care taken to repair, the whole falls in, and the house is in ruins: so figurative buildings, families, churches, and kingdoms, come to nothing, through the sluggishness of masters of families, ministers of the word, and civil magistrates; to the latter of which more especially this is to be applied, who give up themselves to luxury and sloth;

and, through idleness of the hands, the house droppeth through; or, "through the letting" or "hanging down of the hands" h; the remissness of them, as is to be observed in idle persons, who will not lift them up to work; particularly to repair a breach in a house, by means of which the rain drops through it, and makes it uncomfortable and unsafe being in it; and, in process of time, that itself drops to the ground: and this expresses the same thing, how, through the neglect of the civil magistrate, a commonwealth comes to nothing; or, however, the members of it become wretched and miserable.

g בעצלתים "in pigritiis", Montanus; "per duplicem pigritiam", Tigurine version; "pigritia amborum", Junius Tremellius. h בשקלות "per remissionem", Tigurine version "demissione", Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus so Cocceius, Rambachius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Foolish rulers, by their weakness, self-indulgence and sloth, bring decay upon the state: nobleness and temperance insure prosperity: yet the subject must not rebel in word or thought against his king.

Ecclesiastes 10:16

A child - Rather, young. The word is applied to Rehoboam 2 Chronicles 13:7 at the time of his accession to the throne, when he was 41 years old.

Eat in the morning - A sign of intemperance (compare Isaiah 5:11).

Ecclesiastes 10:17

Son of nobles - i. e., of a noble disposition.

Ecclesiastes 10:18

The “building” or “house” represents the state. Compare Isaiah 3:6; Amos 9:10.

Droppeth through - i. e., Lets the rain through the roof.

Ecclesiastes 10:19

literally, For merriment they make a feast (bread), and wine gladdens the living, and money supplies all things.

Ecclesiastes 10:20

Curse - Compare Ecclesiastes 7:21-22.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 18. By much slothfulness — This is remarkably the case in some countries. Houses are not repaired till they almost fall about the ears of the inhabitants. We have an adage that applies to all such cases: "A stitch in time saves nine."


 
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