Indolence of Mañana

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Proverbs 6:6

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,

This passage on diligence is addressed to “you sluggard” (in the NKJV translation).  The “you” is a caution to all of us.  The reference to the meaning of “sluggard” is the subject of this post.  (As we will see in a later post, a parallel passage in Proverbs, Ch 24:30ff, is addressed to a very different character deficiency that leads to the same consequences).

Various translations give us:

  • sluggard, is the most common translated word (ASV, ESV, GNV, KJV, NASB, NET, NIV, NKJV, RSV)
  • slacker (HCSB)
  • lazy one / person / man / fellow–even lazybones or lazy bum–is used in some less common translations
  • and just plain lazy (LEB)

Manuscript (mss.) Word Translated Sluggard

The word so translated in the original mss., the Hebrew text, is `atsel (Strongs H6102), which quite amazingly, occurs 14x (times) in the KJV, all in Proverbs:

Prov. 6:6, 9; 10:26; 13:4; 15:19; 19:24; 20:4; 21:25; 22:13; 24:30; 26:13, 14, 15, 16.

The Greek Old Testament mss., known as the Septuagint (LXX), widely quoted by the New Testament (NT), gives us a great insight.  The corresponding Gr. word is:  oknērós (Strongs G3636).

Both the Hebrew and Greek mss. words convey the idea of lazy, idle, slothful, indolent, i.e. NOT-diligent.  But the Greek word is freighted with the additional idea of hesitating, delaying.  Let us see how and in what way from the NT by examining the conclusion of the famous parable Jesus gave of servants entrusted with talents (certain assets).

Parable of the Servants and Talents

Matthew 25 (NKJV)

14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, whocalled his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Note the above highlighted, awful condemnation of vs. 26:  you wicked and lazy servant.  For a servant this description is about as harsh as any could be, as the judgment is that their lazy behavior is directly associated with wickedness, something we do not ordinarily grasp.  But if you are a servant, laziness with respect to some prescribed duty / obligation is wickedness.  There is even a phonic parallel with the words:  wicked and lazy are, in Greek, ponērós and oknērós, both ending with an “n-eros” (or “eros”) sound.  (Perhaps this is stretching things but the ending phrase of both words is “ērós” which is the Greek word for a form of “love” that is driven by passions as opposed to reason, from which we get the word “erotic,” a word not used (by itself) in the Bible and something far afield from the reason-founded love-words that are used in the Bible.  So our present word-pair of Matt. 25:26 may be suggesting a feelings-based, poisonous motivation in both terms and a direct connection between them because of this common element).

Now we see that the Greek NT word translated “lazy” in Matt. 25:26 is exactly the same word that is used in the LXX for Prov. 6:6, namely oknērós.  This opens up a deeper understanding of its meaning.  The oknērós servant is not an overt thief–he didn’t steal the lord’s money–nor a purely stupid person–he didn’t give the lord’s money to some scam investment.  This person is timid, fearful, inclined to waiting things out, perhaps while thinking about what to do while he delays under some false premise that he will be more or better motivated to take responsibility “tomorrow.”  We could say, using a well known Spanish word, he (or she) is a mañana (literally, tomorrow) man, or simply a later, or someday person, wherein tomorrow / later / someday is a procrastination term for inaction in the here and now.  One cannot now do “tomorrow;”  you can only “do” or “wait.”  If the “wait” is driven by oknērós then it we’ll see later in this passage the terrible result.

What, Then, Does Sluggard Convey?

Returning now to Prov. 6:6, this passage about the “you sluggard” will be contrasted with the small, lowly, but very ‘wise’ (in the sense of industriousness) creature–the ant.  We can see now the point of deeper meaning of sluggard:  it’s not that such person has rejected the need to work, it is that ‘now’ is just not feel to be the right, or necessary, time for it, and not ‘now’ becomes repeated and the habitual present.  With the ant, on the other hand, the ‘now’ is exactly the time, and opportunity, for purposeful work.  As it is said, the hand is where the mind meets the world; or, as the context here gives, the hand is where the mind fulfills the job to be done.

So what about you?  What’s going on with respect to some item(s) on your “to do list” that never seem to get done, or can only get done when you are exactly at the edge of some deeply consequential deadline?  Are you plagued by your character flaw of oknērós?

In a next posting we’ll dig deeper on this as we continue in this passage, Prov. 6-6-11.