What Does Proverbs 26:15 Mean in the King James?
The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The hand is already in the dish; the verse’s strange failure is that it cannot complete the return to the mouth.
THE MEANING
Provision can be within reach while the need remains unmet, because the movement from having food to receiving it is unfinished. The Hebrew image places the hand in a dish, yet the mouth is still unfed.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that having access to what sustains you is the same as being nourished; nearness is not completion.
THE ROOT
לַהֲשִׁיבָהּ
lahashivah
GROWS FROM
שוב
sh-w-b
turn back, return
“bring it again” in this verse is lahashivah. The word pictures the hand’s movement as a return: the food is already reached, but the return that completes the path to the mouth does not happen. English can make this sound like mere reluctance; the root keeps the unfinished movement in view.
ALSO GROWS
turn back: Return toward a place or point previously left.
The hand must turn back from the dish toward the mouth.
restore: Bring something back to its place or former state.
The return is the small act that restores the food to its intended use as nourishment.
טָמַן
tāman
GROWS FROM
טמן
t-m-n
conceal, hide, bury
“hideth” in this verse is tāman. The Hebrew image is of a hand sunk into a dish, already among the food. Hiding and burying share the sense of placing something out of view, so the hand is present but buried in stillness where it cannot finish feeding the person.
ALSO GROWS
hide: Conceal something from view.
The hand disappears from the action even though it is already at the food.
bury: Place something beneath or within a covering.
The image makes the hand seem buried in the dish, emphasizing how little separates available food from an unfed mouth.
THE PATTERN
Provision becomes nourishment only when the movement from having it to receiving or using it is completed.
The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.THE THREAD
A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.This verse repeats the hidden-hand image and makes the failure even sharper: he will not so much as bring the hand to his mouth. The same return-root reveals the interrupted movement from food within reach to food received.
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