¹⁸ By slothfulness is the wall brought low, And by idleness of the hands doth the house drop.

¹ Every wise woman hath builded her house, And the foolish with her hands breaketh it down.

⁴ Because of winter the slothful plougheth not, He asketh in harvest, and there is nothing.

²⁴ The hand of the diligent ruleth, And slothfulness becometh tributary.

²⁵ The desire of the slothful slayeth him, For his hands have refused to work.

²¹ For the quaffer and glutton become poor, And drowsiness clotheth with rags.

³⁰ Near the field of a slothful man I passed by, And near the vineyard of a man lacking heart.

³¹ And lo, it hath gone up -- all of it -- thorns! Covered its face have nettles, And its stone wall hath been broken down.

³² And I see -- I -- I do set my heart, I have seen -- I have received instruction,

³³ A little sleep -- a little slumber -- A little folding of the hands to lie down.

³⁴ And thy poverty hath come `as' a traveller, And thy want as an armed man!

¹¹ and we desire each one of you the same diligence to shew, unto the full assurance of the hope unto the end,

⁵ And this same also -- all diligence having brought in besides, superadd in your faith the worthiness, and in the worthiness the knowledge,

⁶ and in the knowledge the temperance, and in the temperance the endurance, and in the endurance the piety,

⁷ and in the piety the brotherly kindness, and in the brotherly kindness the love;

⁸ for these things being to you and abounding, do make `you' neither inert nor unfruitful in regard to the acknowledging of our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁹ for he with whom these things are not present is blind, dim-sighted, having become forgetful of the cleansing of his old sins;

¹⁰ wherefore, the rather, brethren, be diligent to make stedfast your calling and choice, for these things doing, ye may never stumble,