What does Proverbs 20:13 mean?

Solomon (Proverbs 10:1) warns again about the potential consequences of laziness (Proverbs 6:4; 10:4). Hard work is not a magic spell that guarantees success—but the hardworking person is at much less risk of poverty than the person who is sluggish. Sleep is not bad (Proverbs 3:21–24) and neither is rest (Exodus 16:23–30). However, the person who sleeps when they should work is at risk. A prior proverb compared a lazy person to someone asleep: they are inactive and unaware of their surroundings (Proverbs 19:15).

Some people prefer to sleep rather than face reality. A common symptom of severe depression is unusual sleepiness or fatigue. But the reality is that God-honoring work is both therapeutic and essential. The apostle Paul actively engaged in work. Most Bible teachers believe he was a tentmaker. Acts 20:33–35 quotes him as telling the elders of the church at Ephesus, "I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.""