20:13

This proverb contrasts the bad results of loving sleep with the good results of staying awake. Notice that the negative command “Do not love sleep” is actually similar in meaning to the positive command “stay awake”:

13a
Do not love sleep or you will grow poor ;

13b
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of food.

20:13a

Do not love sleep, or you will grow poor:
The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as or is literally “lest.” It introduces the bad consequences of ignoring the preceding command.

Do not love sleep: This command is a general admonition or warning to anyone. It does not imply that particular listeners or readers did in fact love sleep. The purpose of the command is to warn people not to be lazy. It indicates that they should not sleep when they ought to be working.

Some other ways to translate 20:13a are:

Do not love sleep lest you become impoverished (NET Bible)
-or-
If you spend your time sleeping, you will be poor. (Good News Translation)

20:13b

open your eyes, and you will have plenty of food: There are two ways to interpret the command that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as open your eyes :

(1) It means “stay awake,” “stay alert,” or “stay busy.” It implies that a person should stay alert in order to do his work. For example:

Keep busy (Good News Translation)

(2) It means “open your eyes,” “wake up, or get up.” It implies that a person should wake up in order to do his work. For example:

if you get up and work (Contemporary English Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars.

In Hebrew, this line consists of two commands: “stay awake” and “be satisfied with food.” Some ways to translate these two commands are:

• Use two commands. For example:

keep your eyes open and have your fill of food (New Jerusalem Bible)

• Translate the first clause as a command. Translate the second clause so that it is understood as a result of the first command (as in the Berean Standard Bible). For example:

Keep busy and you will have plenty to eat. (Good News Translation)

• Translate the two commands as an “if” clause followed by a result. For example:

If you stay awake, you will have plenty of food. (New Century Version)

you will have plenty of food: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as food is literally “bread.” Bread was the staple food in Israel. To have plenty of food means “to have plenty of food.”

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