עָצֵל

Proverbs 6:6 עָצֵ֑ל O sluggard

Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise.

Here: A form of address: "you sluggard!" This is Proverbs' stock figure of the person who will not act when action is needed and talks himself out of work. Calling someone this was a sharp, shaming label.

Proverbs 6:9 עָצֵ֥ל׀ O sluggard

How long will you lie there, O slacker? When will you get up from your sleep?

Here: Used here to address someone directly: "you sluggard!" This is Proverbs' stock figure of the person who will not act, the same one just sent off to learn from the ant in 6:6. A small vertical stroke after the word (paseq) marks a slight pause, so the insult hangs in the air for a moment.

Proverbs 10:26 הֶ֝עָצֵ֗ל the sluggard

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the slacker to those who send him.

Proverbs 13:4 עָצֵ֑ל a sluggard

The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.

Here: Proverbs' stock figure of the person who will not act when action is due. The main pause of the line falls on him, which leaves the empty-handed sluggard hanging at the half-verse.

Proverbs 15:19 עָ֭צֵל a sluggard

The way of the slacker is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.

Here: The stock figure of Proverbs who will not get up and act and always has a reason why not. It is the subject of the first half: his way.

Proverbs 19:24 עָצֵ֣ל a sluggard

The slacker buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth.

Here: The stock 'lazy man' of Proverbs, a figure who appears only in this book. He is a type, drawn as a caricature so the audience will laugh.

Proverbs 20:4 עָצֵ֣ל a sluggard

The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.

Here: The stock character Proverbs calls 'the sluggard'. He is not just tired. He keeps putting off necessary work and always has an excuse ready. Here the excuse is the weather.

Proverbs 21:25 עָצֵ֣ל a sluggard

The craving of the slacker kills him because his hands refuse to work.

Here: "A sluggard". This is a stock character in Proverbs: the man who will not get up, plow or finish anything, and who always has an excuse. It describes a settled habit, not one tired day.

Proverbs 22:13 עָ֭צֵל a sluggard

The slacker says, “There is a lion outside! I will be slain in the streets!”

Here: The stock figure of Proverbs who will not get moving. He is not a scoundrel but someone who stays in bed, leaves the job undone and always has a reason. Here the reason is the whole joke.

Proverbs 24:30 עָצֵ֣ל lazy

I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.

Here: The stock character of Proverbs, the sluggard. He is not a man who cannot work. He is a man who will not get moving, and always has an excuse or a reason to stay in bed.

Proverbs 26:13 עָ֭צֵל a sluggard

The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”

Here: The "sluggard" is a stock character in Proverbs. He is the person who will not get moving. No article is used: this is a type of person, not a particular man. This verse opens a group of four sayings about him (vv. 13–16).

Proverbs 26:14 וְ֝עָצֵ֗ל and a sluggard

As a door turns on its hinges, so the slacker turns on his bed.

Here: "And a sluggard." This is the stock lazy man of Proverbs, a stock comic figure who will not get moving. The simple "and" does the comparing. Hebrew sets the two pictures side by side with no "as … so."

Proverbs 26:15 עָצֵ֣ל a sluggard

The slacker buries his hand in the dish; it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.

Here: The stock lazy man of Proverbs. In this verse and the two around it, he has become a type, almost a cartoon. The point is not ordinary tiredness. It is a settled habit of not doing what is right in front of him.

Proverbs 26:16 עָצֵ֣ל a sluggard

The slacker is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.

Here: The stock character of the lazy man, who appears only in Proverbs. This verse is the last of four sayings about him (26:13–16). Here the point is not his idleness but his self-assessment.