here are 30 verses from the Bible about slothfulness:
- Proverbs 6:6-11:
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 10:4-5:
Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.
- Proverbs 12:24:
Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.
- Proverbs 12:27:
The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.
- Proverbs 13:4:
A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.
- Proverbs 15:19:
The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.
- Proverbs 18:9:
One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.
- Proverbs 19:15:
Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless go hungry.
- Proverbs 20:4:
Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing.
- Proverbs 21:25-26:
The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work. All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing.
- Proverbs 22:13:
The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside! I’ll be killed in the public square!”
- Proverbs 24:30-34:
I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: 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 26:13-16:
A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!” As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed. A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven people who answer discreetly.
- Ecclesiastes 10:18:
Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks.
- Matthew 25:26:
His master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?
- Romans 12:11:
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
- Ephesians 5:15-16:
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
- Colossians 3:23-24:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:14:
And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:10-11:
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies.
- Hebrews 6:12:
We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
- Hebrews 10:36:
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
- James 1:22:
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
- James 2:14-17:
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
- James 4:17:
If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
- 1 Peter 4:10:
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
- 2 Peter 1:5-7:
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
- 2 Peter 3:14:
So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
- Revelation 3:15-16:
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
- Revelation 3:19:
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.
These verses admonish against the sin of slothfulness and urge believers to be diligent, active, and faithful in their work and service to God and others.
