As the door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed.
Parallel Translations
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As the door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed.
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As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.
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The door is turning upon its hinges, and the sluggard is still upon his bed.
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to Proverbs 26:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Hebrews 6:12 that you won’t be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherited the promises.
- Proverbs 6:9-10 How long will you sleep, sluggard? When will you arise out of your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
- Proverbs 12:24 The hands of the diligent ones shall rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.
- Proverbs 12:27 The slothful man doesn’t roast his game, but the possessions of diligent men are prized.
- Proverbs 24:33 a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 26:14 [As] the door turneth upon his hinges,…
Pro 26:14 [As] the door turneth upon his hinges, so [doth] the slothful upon his bed.
Ver. 14. As the door turneth upon his hinges.] But comes not off, unless lifted or knocked off. So neither comes the sluggard out of his feathered nest, where he lies soaking and stretching, unless hard hunger or other necessity rouse and raise him. As abroad there is a lion, so at home there is a lusk, a lurdam, and a losel, that lives in the worm to no purpose - yea, to bad purpose, and being wise in his own conceit, will not accept of better counsel. Those whose heads are laid upon down pillows are not apt to hear noises; no more are those that live at ease in Zion to hearken to wholesome advice, or if sometimes they have a kind of willingness and velleity to do better, yet it is but as the door that turns on the hinges, but yet hangs still upon them.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Turneth upon his hinges; moving hither and thither upon…
Turneth upon his hinges; moving hither and thither upon them, but not removing one jot from its place.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Having seen the slothful man in fear of his…
Having seen the slothful man in fear of his work, here we find him in love with his ease; he lies in his bed on one side till he is weary of that, and then turns to the other, but still in his bed, when it is far in the day and work is to be done, as the door is moved, but not removed; and so his business is neglected and his opportunities are let slip. See the sluggard's character. 1. He is one that does not care to get out of his bed, but seems to be hung upon it, as the door upon the hinges. Bodily ease, too much consulted, is the sad occasion of many a spiritual disease. Those that love sleep will prove in the end to have loved death. 2. He does not care to get forward with his business; in that he stirs to and fro a little, but to no purpose; he is where he was. Slothful professors turn, in profession, like the door upon the hinges. The world and the flesh are the two hinges on which they are hung, and though they move in a course of external services, have got into road of duties, and tread around in them like the horse in the mill, yet they get no good, they get no ground, they are never the nearer heaven - sinners unchanged, saints unimproved.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain As the door turneth upon his hinges,.... And moves…
As the door turneth upon his hinges,.... And moves this way and that way, and opens and shuts, and yet hangs where it did, is not moved from its place:
so doth the slothful upon his bed; he turns himself from side to side, but is still on his bed, and does not move out of it, and go about his business. Aben Ezra makes mention of another reading and sense, "the door turneth upon his hinges", and is opened to let men out, one and another, to his work; "but yet the slothful man is upon his bed"; though one and another rise and go about business, and he hears the door open again and again, he stirs not, but keeps his, bed. So profane sinners lie on the bed of sinful lusts and sensual pleasures, indulge themselves in chambering and wantonness, and do not care to rise from hence, and walk honestly as in the daytime; and though their consciences are sometimes jogged by inward pricks, and they are moved a little by the reproofs of their friends, or awakened by the judgments of God; yet these are quickly over, and they give themselves a turn and go to sleep again: sometimes there are some motions in them, some thoughts and resolutions of amendment, some purposes to do good works; but, alas! their slothfulness is so great, and the habits and customs of sin so strong, that they cannot break through them, shake off their sloth, and come out, but remain as they were: and so it is with carnal professors, resting in their own works, and in a round of duties; and after ten, twenty, thirty years' profession, or more, they are just where they were; have no spiritual knowledge, judgment, and experience.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Turneth - Moving hither and thither upon it, but…
Turneth - Moving hither and thither upon it, but not removing from its place.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Bed, which he will scarcely leave, though avarice push…
Bed, which he will scarcely leave, though avarice push him forward. (St. Augustine, ser. xxii. or clxiv.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain (Compare Pro 6:10; Pro 24:33).
(Compare Pro 6:10; Pro 24:33).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 14. As the door turneth — “Doors anciently turned…
14. As the door turneth — “Doors anciently turned on vertical pivots. As the door moves on its hinges, but not from them, so the sluggard moves on, but not from, his bed.” — Muenscher. Conant gives it very neatly: “The door turns on its hinges, and the sluggard on his couch.” So also Zockler. Compare Pro_6:10; Pro_24:33.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 14. “He will not get up in the morning;…
14. “He will not get up in the morning; he turns from side to side, just like a door which swings backward and forward upon its hinges, but of course never gets any further.” Horton, ch. xx. p. 263, where a graphic picture of the sluggard is drawn by bringing together the different notices of him in the Book of Proverbs.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain As the door turneth upon its hinges. The door…
As the door turneth upon its hinges. The door moves on its hinges and makes no progress beyond its own confined sphere of motion; so the slothful man turns himself on his bed from side to side, but never leaves it to do his. work. Other analogies have been found in this proverb. Thus: The door opens to let the diligent go forth to his daily business, while the sluggard is rolling upon his bed; the door creaks when it is moved, so the lazy man groans when he is aroused; the door now is opened, now is shut, so the sluggard at one time intends to rise, and then falls back in his bed, and returns to his sleep. (comp. Pro_6:9, 10 24:33)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.