Add parallel Print Page Options

11 Those who till their own land have food in plenty,
    but those who engage in idle pursuits lack sense.[a](A)
12 A wicked person desires the catch of evil people,
    but the root of the righteous will bear fruit.[b]
13 By the sin of their lips the wicked are ensnared,
    but the just escape from a tight spot.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 12:11 The second line clarifies the first: idleness will give one plenty of nothing. “Lacking sense” is a common phrase for fools.
  2. 12:12 A difficult, possibly corrupt saying, but there is no good alternative to the Hebrew text. The wicked desire what the malevolent have captured or killed, but their actions will go for naught because they invite punishment. The righteous, on the other hand, will bear fruit.

11 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
    but those who chase fantasies have no sense.(A)

12 The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,
    but the root of the righteous endures.

13 Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk,(B)
    and so the innocent escape trouble.(C)

Read full chapter