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Proverbs 21:5

箴言 21:5

The Passage

The plans of the diligent surely lead to profit; and everyone who is hasty surely rushes to poverty.

In the other language

殷勤筹划的，足致丰裕；行事急躁的，都必缺乏。

Theme

Diligent planning

Bring a question to this passage

Many readers arrive here from a real question. These are reflections for how this passage speaks to the questions people bring most often — not an answer about what will happen, but an invitation to sit with it slowly.

How do I face this season of pressure at work?

Pressure often arrives dressed as urgency, and urgency is a poor planner. This proverb draws a plain contrast between diligence and haste: the diligent person builds slowly and ends up with something, the hasty person rushes and ends up with less, often without noticing the exchange. It is a quiet argument for doing the next thing well rather than everything at once. Which items on today's list are genuinely yours to do, and which are only loud?

Carry thisDiligence builds; hurry spends.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 40:31 · 2 Corinthians 10:2-6

I want to learn to love better in this relationship.

Haste and diligence lead in different directions in this proverb. Its subject is material provision, not relationships, so it does not promise that careful effort will repair yours. What it offers is a contrast worth considering: the steady attention of diligence and the urgency that rushes past what matters. Wanting to love better may call for small, deliberate practices rather than one dramatic conversation. You might make time to listen, remember an expressed need, or pause before replying in anger. These choices cannot determine another person's response, but they are yours to consider. This proverb addresses provision rather than relationships. How much of your urgency in this relationship could give way to steady, deliberate care?

Carry thisDiligence gives care more room than haste does.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 40:31 · 2 Corinthians 10:2-6

What do I need to let go of in the coming weeks?

Patient planning stands in contrast to hurried action in this proverb, which weighs their differing outcomes. The proverb does not provide a schedule for your coming weeks, but it invites you to examine the pressure to move quickly. Planning diligently means giving a task enough attention to see its demands and limits. You might need to loosen your attachment to immediate results, or the feeling that every opportunity must be taken now. This is wisdom about ordinary patterns, not a promise that careful work will make you prosperous. There is room to pause without abandoning responsibility. Where is urgency keeping you from giving something the patient attention it needs?

Carry thisPatient attention is different from the pressure to hurry.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 40:31 · 2 Corinthians 10:2-6

How can I find stillness in a busy life?

A pause can belong inside your plans, rather than waiting until every task is done. This proverb does not directly teach stillness, but it contrasts diligent planning with haste. Diligence need not mean constant motion. You can give careful attention to what actually needs doing. You can also notice when urgency is making every demand seem equally important. In God's presence, consider one task slowly, including the time and energy you truly have. The proverb offers a contrast to ponder, not a guarantee that careful planning will remove every difficulty. Haste and diligence can feel similar when you are busy; what might help you recognize the difference today?

Carry thisA thoughtful pause can belong within diligent work.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 40:31 · 2 Corinthians 10:2-6

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Proverbs 21 — in context

1The king’s heart is in the LORD’s hand like the watercourses. He turns it wherever he desires.

2Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts.

3To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

4A high look, and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, is sin.

5The plans of the diligent surely lead to profit; and everyone who is hasty surely rushes to poverty.

6Getting treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor for those who seek death.

7The violence of the wicked will drive them away, because they refuse to do what is right.

8The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

9It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than to share a house with a contentious woman.

10The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.

11When the mocker is punished, the simple gains wisdom. When the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.

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