“The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.”
My Notes
What Does Proverbs 20:4 Mean?
"The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing." The sluggard uses weather as an excuse not to work: it's cold, so he won't plow. The result is predictable and devastating: when harvest comes, he has nothing. The excuse that seemed reasonable in winter becomes the cause of starvation in autumn. The momentary discomfort avoided produces permanent deprivation.
The phrase "will not plow by reason of the cold" (mechoreph atzel lo yacharosh — from the cold/autumn the sluggard does not plow) identifies the excuse: the weather is uncomfortable. Plowing is hard. The cold makes it harder. The sluggard finds in the weather a justification for inaction. The excuse is real — it IS cold — but the consequence of accepting the excuse is starvation.
The "beg in harvest and have nothing" (vesha'al baqatzir va'ayin — and he begs at harvest time and there is nothing) is the delayed consequence: the laziness of the plowing season produces the begging of the harvest season. The gap between the excuse and the consequence is months — long enough to forget that today's laziness creates tomorrow's poverty.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What 'cold' are you using as an excuse not to do the hard work right now?
- 2.What harvest will be empty because of today's accepted excuse?
- 3.How does the gap between the excuse (winter) and the consequence (harvest) make laziness feel safe?
- 4.What uncomfortable preparation — plowing in the cold — would prevent future begging?
Devotional
It's cold. So the sluggard doesn't plow. And when harvest comes — nothing. The excuse was real. The cold was genuine. The discomfort was actual. But the consequence of accepting the excuse is starvation. The comfortable winter produced the empty autumn.
The 'by reason of the cold' is the excuse that sounds reasonable: who wants to plow in the cold? The ground is hard. The wind is bitter. The body resists. The excuse has the ring of common sense. But the proverb exposes the excuse for what it is: the reason you'll have nothing at harvest. The excuse that sounds reasonable in the moment becomes the cause of the crisis in the future.
The 'beg in harvest and have nothing' is the delayed cost of the accepted excuse: months pass between the refusal to plow and the begging at harvest. The sluggard doesn't connect the two. The cold morning when plowing seemed impossible feels unrelated to the harvest morning when the field is empty. But they're directly connected. Today's excuse is tomorrow's poverty.
The proverb applies to every area where discomfort prevents preparation: the conversation you avoid because it's uncomfortable (the relationship harvest will be empty). The discipline you skip because it's hard (the health harvest will be nothing). The investment you don't make because it requires sacrifice (the financial harvest will be begging). Every excuse accepted in the cold produces nothing in the harvest.
What 'cold' are you using as an excuse not to plow — and what harvest will be empty because of it?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
The sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold,.... Or, "in the cold"; in the time of cold, as Aben Ezra; in the…
Plowing time in Palestine is in November and December, when the wind blows commonly from the North.
See here the evil of slothfulness and the love of ease. 1. It keeps men from the most necessary business, from ploughing…
cold Rather, winter, A.V. marg. and R.V. See Gen 8:22, where the Heb. word here used is rendered "winter," and another…
Cross References
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