Proverbs 26:14 kjv

As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.

Proverbs 26:14 nkjv

As a door turns on its hinges, So does the lazy man on his bed.

Proverbs 26:14 niv

As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.

Proverbs 26:14 esv

As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed.

Proverbs 26:14 nlt

As a door swings back and forth on its hinges,
so the lazy person turns over in bed.

Proverbs 26 verses

Proverbs 26 14 Meaning

Proverbs 26:14 graphically illustrates the character of a sluggard through a vivid analogy. Just as a door pivots repeatedly on its fixed hinges without ever truly advancing or leaving its threshold, so too does a lazy person perpetually turn over and shift positions on their bed, remaining entrapped in inertia and failing to rise for productive work. The verse highlights a state of unproductive motion, where activity occurs, but no real progress or duty is undertaken.

Proverbs 26 14 Context

Proverbs 26 is a chapter primarily concerned with illustrating the characteristics of fools and sluggards, often using vivid imagery and analogies. Verses 13-16 specifically depict various aspects of the sluggard, emphasizing their excuses, their inertia, and their self-deception. This particular verse (14) falls within this block, providing a memorable picture of the sluggard's core problem: a perpetual state of readiness to avoid responsibility rather than engage with it. The historical context for the original audience, living in an agrarian society, placed a high value on diligent labor as essential for survival, provision, and societal contribution. Laziness was a direct threat to household well-being and community stability, contrasting sharply with the communal and individual responsibilities inherent in Israelite society. There is an indirect polemic against any mindset that values comfort and personal ease over necessary duty and productivity.

Proverbs 26 14 Word analysis

• As: The Hebrew כְּ (ke), functioning as a comparative particle, introduces a simile, drawing a direct comparison between two distinct entities to illuminate a characteristic of the second.
• a door: דֶּלֶת (delet). Refers to a literal door, a common household item in ancient Israel, often made of wood and rotating on fixed pivot points. The emphasis here is on an object that, despite motion, remains within a defined, unchanging boundary, symbolizing stagnation.
• turns: תִּסּוֹב (tissov), from the root סבב (savav). This verb signifies to turn, revolve, or go around. In this context, it highlights a repetitive, cyclical motion that does not lead to progress or a change of place. It suggests busy inactivity.
• on its hinges: עַל־צִירוֹ (al tsirō). 'Tsir' (צִיר) refers to the pivot, axis, or hinge point on which something rotates. It can also imply a painful constraint. The phrase emphasizes the fixed nature of the rotation; the door cannot escape its point of attachment, illustrating the sluggard's self-imposed confinement.
• so: The continuation of the comparative structure from 'As,' establishing a direct parallel.
• a sluggard: עָצֵל (atsel). This term is central to Proverbs, denoting a lazy, indolent, or slothful person. The sluggard is characterized by an aversion to effort, a preference for ease, and an unfulfilled potential.
• turns: תִּסּוֹב (tissov), same root סבב (savav) as used for the door. Applying the same verb underscores the exact nature of the analogy: the sluggard's "activity" is identical in its futility to the door's confined motion.
• on his bed: עַל־מִטָּתוֹ (al mittato). The bed, intended for rest and recuperation, becomes the sluggard's symbol of escape from responsibility and the preferred location for unproductive, continuous inertia. It is the place of comfort, which becomes a cage of inaction.

Words-group analysis:

• "As a door turns on its hinges": This phrase sets up the perfect visual metaphor for circular, confined movement. It's an action without advancement, illustrating a constant state of preparedness to not move forward, symbolic of the sluggard's characteristic inertia and unwillingness to step beyond their comfort zone into productivity.
• "so a sluggard turns on his bed": This phrase applies the metaphor directly to the sluggard. The 'turning' on the bed vividly portrays the struggle between a hint of awareness (turning, implying restlessness or wakefulness) and the powerful desire to remain idle. It depicts the internal 'motion' of contemplating work, perhaps even moving positions, but ultimately yielding to sloth, resulting in no actual engagement with external responsibilities.

Proverbs 26 14 Bonus section

This proverb highlights the difference between movement and progress. The sluggard engages in the former without achieving the latter. The 'turning on his bed' can be seen as an internal conflict where the sluggard's conscience might stir, urging him to action, but his will to sloth prevails. This inner turning and self-debate replaces the actual action needed. It's a condition where even the necessary and beneficial act of resting or sleeping morphs into a destructive escape from reality and responsibility. The proverbs concerning the sluggard often serve as an implicit call to personal discipline and recognizing that purposeful activity is part of God's design for human flourishing.

Proverbs 26 14 Commentary

Proverbs 26:14 provides a striking image of the sluggard's defining trait: endless, self-contained activity that produces nothing. The analogy of the door, constantly moving but forever bound to its frame, perfectly encapsulates the sluggard's pattern. He might awaken, shift positions, contemplate his tasks, even desire a different outcome, but the effort to leave the bed, to genuinely begin work, never materializes. This verse isn't merely about physical laziness, but a deeper lack of initiative, discipline, and purpose. It reveals a life of wasted potential, trapped by a love of comfort, where perpetual motion on the "bed" replaces any meaningful forward momentum. The sluggard remains firmly within his sphere of inaction, despite any superficial "turning" or internal contemplation. This habit of deferring, delaying, and remaining in a comfortable but unproductive state leads inevitably to want and ruin, as other proverbs on the sluggard make clear.