“Go to the ant!
You lazybones!
Consider its ways!
Be wise!
Without having
Any chief,
Any officer,
Any ruler,
It prepares its food in summer.
It gathers its sustenance in harvest.
How long will you be there?
O lazybones!
When will you rise from your sleep?
A little sleep,
A little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest,
Poverty will come upon you
Like a robber.
Want will come upon you
Like an armed warrior.”
This admonition is very clear. Do not be lazy, a lazybones person. He took the example of an ant. It has no chiefs, officers, or rulers, yet it provides for itself. The ants prepared the food in summer and gathered in the fall. So then he turned to the lazy one. He asked how long he was going to be resting. He either was sleeping, dosing, or folding his hands resting. If he did not get a move on, he would soon be poor. Poverty would come upon him like a robber or armed warrior. This is an idea that will be repeated.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 