The Meaning of Proverbs 6:9 Explained

Proverbs 6:9

KJV: How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

YLT: Till when, O slothful one, dost thou lie? When dost thou arise from thy sleep?

Darby: How long, sluggard, wilt thou lie down? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

ASV: How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

How long wilt thou sleep,  O sluggard?  when wilt thou arise  out of thy sleep? 

What does Proverbs 6:9 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 6:1-19 - Avoid Suretyship And Sloth
A young man, being entreated by his friend to go bond for him, consents, in an easy-going way to become his surety. He promises to be responsible for the other's debt. From that moment he resembles a roe caught by a hunter or a bird snared by a fowler. If any shall have enmeshed himself in an obligation of this kind he is exhorted to spare no pains, to stand on no false pride, but to go with all urgency to the man for whom he has pledged his credit, and get released at all cost. If we can afford to be surety, we can afford to lend the money ourselves. If we cannot do the former, it is weak and foolish to do the latter.
The ants swarm in the woods and fields, and rebuke our laziness and thriftlessness. They work day and might, storing their galleries with food, building mounds which relatively to the size of the builders are three or four times larger than the Pyramids. In sickness they nurse one another; in the winter they feed on their supplies. Learn from the ceaseless industry of Nature, and do something worthy before sundown! [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 6

1  against indebtedness
6  idleness
12  and mischievousness
16  seven things detestable to God
20  the blessings of obedience
25  the mischief of unfaithfulness

What do the individual words in Proverbs 6:9 mean?

How long sluggard will you slumber when will you rise from your sleep
עַד־ מָתַ֖י ؟ עָצֵ֥ל ׀ תִּשְׁכָּ֑ב מָ֝תַ֗י תָּק֥וּם ؟ מִשְּׁנָתֶֽךָ

עַד־  How 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
מָתַ֖י  long 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: מָתַי  
Sense: when?.
؟ עָצֵ֥ל ׀  sluggard 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עָצֵל  
Sense: sluggish, lazy.
תִּשְׁכָּ֑ב  will  you  slumber 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שָׁכַב  
Sense: to lie down.
תָּק֥וּם  will  you  rise 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
؟ מִשְּׁנָתֶֽךָ  from  your  sleep 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: שֵׁנָא 
Sense: sleep.