Proverbs 10:26 - Printer Friendly

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

NIV: As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggards to those who send them.

NASB: Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy one to those who send him.

CSB: Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so the slacker is to the one who sends him on an errand.

NLT: Lazy people irritate their employers, like vinegar to the teeth or smoke in the eyes.

KJV: As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.

NKJV: As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy man to those who send him.

This verse describes a lazy person, the "sluggard" (Proverbs 6:6, 9) as causing his employer great disappointment. Biblically, the Hebrew term ā'sēl is seen only in the book of Proverbs; it implies someone lacking self-control and motivation to an immoral degree. Later, Solomon will remark that attempting to rely on a fool—and expression of which is laziness— is as irrational as cutting off one's own feet (Proverbs 26:6).

For those who need such a person to perform a task, his habits are as distasteful as vinegar and as irritating as smoke that gets into the eyes. When his employer sends him on an errand, the lazy person doesn't complete it.

For believers, it's important to remember that God's work demands diligence and haste. Jesus commissioned His disciples to proclaim the gospel "to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). After two millennia, the church hasn't completed that commission. Millions have yet to hear the gospel for the first time. Christians need to take to heart the counsel Paul gives in Galatians 6:9: "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." He also encouraged the Corinthian believers to "be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Proverbs 10:11–32 contrasts the righteous and the wicked, focusing on their different speech patterns, their different lifestyles, their different attitudes, and their different destinies. Verses 21 through 27 are especially focused on the different results which can be expected from pursuing godliness, versus pursuing sin.

This chapter begins 375 "proverbs," which are general-case lessons or observations. These wise remarks continue the discussion of wisdom and wickedness begun in chapters 1—9. Most of the verses in chapter 10 contain a sharp contrast, with the conjunction "but" separating the lines. Often, the subject changes from verse to verse. The contrasting subjects include sons, treasure, work ethic, reputation, relationships, success, and speech.

In Proverbs 7—9 Solomon contrasts wisdom and wickedness in the symbolic persons of Lady Wisdom and Woman Folly. He calls upon his sons, or students, to choose wisdom, and he points out the benefits of choosing wisdom and the disastrous results of choosing wickedness. Chapter 10 presents vivid contrasts between wisdom and wickedness in many of life's settings. These comparisons continue into chapter 11.

Proverbs is best understood in context with the books of Ecclesiastes and Job. In Proverbs, “wisdom” is given in short, simple, general terms. Ecclesiastes represents wisdom based on observation and experience. This often shows how the general principles of the book of Proverbs don’t apply in absolutely every circumstance. Job represents wisdom based on the experience of suffering and injustice. All three come to the conclusion that God does indeed know best, and the most sensible course of action is to follow His will.