Proverbs 13:4 - Exposition

(Comp. Proverbs 10:4 .) The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing; literally, and nothing is there— he gains nothing ( Proverbs 14:6 ; Proverbs 20:4 ). He has the wish, but not the will, and the empty wish without corresponding exertion is useless ( Proverbs 21:25 , etc.). Vulgate, "The indolent wishers, and wishes not;" he wishes for something, but he wishes not for the labour of getting it; he would like the result, but he hates the process by which the result is to be obtained. Septuagint, "In desires every idle man is occupied;" his mind is fixed wholly on aimless wishes, not on action. Shall be made fat ( Proverbs 11:25 ); Septuagint, "The hands of the valiant are fully occupied ( ἐν ἐπιμελείᾳ )."