Proverbs Chapter 12 verse 24 Holy Bible
The hand of the diligent shall bear rule; But the slothful shall be put under taskwork.
read chapter 12 in ASV
The hand of the ready worker will have authority, but he who is slow in his work will be put to forced work.
read chapter 12 in BBE
The hand of the diligent shall bear rule; but the slothful [hand] shall be under tribute.
read chapter 12 in DARBY
The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.
read chapter 12 in KJV
read chapter 12 in WBT
The hands of the diligent ones shall rule, But laziness ends in slave labor.
read chapter 12 in WEB
The hand of the diligent ruleth, And slothfulness becometh tributary.
read chapter 12 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 24-28 speak of the means of getting on in life. Verse 24. - The hand of the diligent shall bear rule (Proverbs 10:4). For "diligent" the Vulgate has fortium, "the strong and active;" Septuagint, ἐκλεκτῶν, "choice." Such men are sure to rise to the surface, and get the upper hand in a community, as the LXX. adds, "with facility," by a natural law. But the slothful (literally, slothfulness) shall be under tribute; or, reduced to compulsory service, like the Gibeonites in Joshua's time, and the Canaanites under Solomon (Joshua 9:21, 23; 1 Kings 9:21). So Proverbs 11:29, "The fool shall be slave to the wise;" and an Israelite reduced to poverty might be made a servant (Leviticus 25:39, 40). The LXX., taking the word in another sense, translates, "The crafty shall be for plunder;" i.e. they who think to succeed by fraud and trickery shall become the prey of those who are stronger than themselves.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(24) Under tribute.--Like the descendants of the Amorites and other former inhabitants of Canaan, by whose forced labour Solomon executed his great works (1Kings 9:20-21). A Hebrew from poverty might be reduced to slavery (Lev. xxv, 39),
