21:25

The ultimate reason for the lazy person’s death is his refusal to work. Without working, he cannot get food and other things that he needs to stay alive.

25a The craving of the slacker kills him,

25b because his hands refuse to work.

21:25a

The craving of the slacker: The word craving refers here to any desire or longing. It is not limited to a desire for food. For example:

The idler’s desires (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
The desire of a lazy person (God’s Word)

This proverb does not make the object of the sluggard’s desire or longing explicit. Some scholars think that it refers to an unsatisfied desire (hunger) for food. Other scholars think that it refers to a lazy person’s desire for sleep. If you need to specify what the lazy person desires, it is recommended that you make “sleep” explicit. For example:

Lazy people’s desire for sleep (New Century Version)

Several other verses in Proverbs state or imply the sluggard’s tendency to do nothing but rest or sleep.

kills him: The lazy person’s desire to take life easy will eventually result in his early death. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

will lead to his death
-or-
will cause him to die ⌊early⌋

21:25b

because his hands refuse to work: In this context, the phrase his hands is a figure of speech (synecdoche). The hands represent the entire person. In some languages, it may be natural to say that someone’s hands refuse to work. In other languages, it will be better to speak of the person. For example:

because they refuse to work (New Century Version)

General Comment on 21:25a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to put the result after the reason. See 21:25a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.

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