Ecclesiastes 10:17–18

⁴It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:

⁵Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

²⁶And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

⁶Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.

⁷I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.

¹¹¶ Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!

²¹And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord.

²For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.

³A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.

¹EVERY wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

⁴The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.

³⁰I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;

³¹And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.

³²Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.

³³Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

³⁴So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.

¹¹And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:

²⁵The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.

²¹For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

⁵And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

⁶And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

⁷And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

⁸For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

¹⁰Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

²⁴The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.