"Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

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

A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest —
and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man."
- Proverbs 6:6-11

The Curse of Laziness

In Proverbs 6 wisdom directly connects poverty and scarcity with the sleep, slumber and resting of the sluggard.

Wisdom advises men to model themselves after the ant whose drive to work is not motivated by an overseer and whose need to prepare for winter is not neglected during the pleasant summer and fall season. Instead, the ant works without supervision and prepares without distraction.

The references to poverty coming on the sluggard “like a thief” and “like an armed man” might better be translated (according to Albright and noted by Garrett) as “homeless vagabond” and “beggar.” This is because the Hebrew word translated “thief” means a man who “walks about,” which seems more like a homeless man than a thief. The Hebrew word translated by the NIV as “an armed man” includes the Hebrew word meaning “beg.” It is easier to justify the translation of “beggar” here instead of “man of a shield,” or “armed man.” The idea is that poverty is like a homeless man who has nowhere to go. And, scarcity is like a beggar who can never be given enough since his only source of provision is continual begging. Homelessness and begging are the destiny of the sluggard who will not diligently work hard.

I will manage my time, be diligent and motivate myself to work hard and labor for the future.