⁴ The hater of work does not get his desires, but the soul of the hard workers will be made fat.

²⁴ The hand of the ready worker will have authority, but he who is slow in his work will be put to forced work.

¹¹ He who does work on his land will not be short of bread; but he who goes after foolish men is without sense.

⁴ He who is slow in his work becomes poor, but the hand of the ready worker gets in wealth.

²⁵ He who gives blessing will be made fat, but the curser will himself be cursed.

² So that your ear gives attention to wisdom, and your heart is turned to knowledge;

³ Truly, if you are crying out for good sense, and your request is for knowledge;

⁴ If you are looking for her as for silver, and searching for her as for stored-up wealth;

⁵ Then the fear of the Lord will be clear to you, and knowledge of God will be yours.

⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom; out of his mouth come knowledge and reason:

⁷ He has salvation stored up for the upright, he is a breastplate to those in whom there is no evil;

⁸ He keeps watch on the ways which are right, and takes care of those who have the fear of him.

⁹ Then you will have knowledge of righteousness and right acting, and upright behaviour, even of every good way.

⁵ So, for this very cause, take every care; joining virtue to faith, and knowledge to virtue,

⁶ And self-control to knowledge, and a quiet mind to self-control, and fear of God to a quiet mind,

⁷ And love of the brothers to fear of God, and to love of the brothers, love itself.

⁸ For if you have these things in good measure, they will make you fertile and full of fruit in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹ For the man who has not these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having no memory of how he was made clean from his old sins.

¹⁰ For this reason, my brothers, take all the more care to make your selection and approval certain; for if you do these things you will never have a fall:

¹¹ For so the way will be open to you into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

¹¹ And it is our desire that you may all keep the same high purpose in certain hope to the end:

²⁷ Let your work not be for the food which comes to an end, but for the food which goes on for eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you, for on him has God the Father put his mark.

¹¹ And the Lord will be your guide at all times; in dry places he will give you water in full measure, and will make strong your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like an ever-flowing spring.

²⁵ He who is ever desiring profit is a cause of fighting; but he who puts his faith in the Lord will be made fat.

¹³ The hater of work says, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.

³⁴ Happy is the man who gives ear to me, watching at my doors day by day, keeping his place by the pillars of my house.

¹⁴ They will give fruit even when they are old; they will be fertile and full of growth;

¹⁰ Who is able to take the measure of the dust of Jacob or the number of the thousands of Israel? May my death be the death of the upright and my last end like his!