12:27

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

27a
A lazy man does not roast his game,

27b but a diligent man prizes his possession.

The main contrast in this proverb is between a person who is too lazy to complete a project successfully ⌊and so must suffer the consequences⌋ and a person who gains valuable possessions as a result of his diligence.

12:27a

A lazy man does not roast his game: The word game describes a wild animal that people hunt for food. So this line refers to a person who is too lazy to cook what he has hunted. This may be expressed as:

Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch (New Living Translation (2004))

This is a specific and slightly humorous example of extreme laziness. Some versions drop this specific example and instead give a general principle. For example:

If you are lazy, you will never get what you are after (Good News Translation)

Most other versions keep the example. You are encouraged to use it if possible, because the picture of a hunter who is too lazy to cook his own food gets a reader’s attention much better than a general statement.

In some languages, readers may not understand the intended meaning of this clause. If that is true in your language, it may be necessary to make explicit the consequence of the person’s laziness. For example:

Anyone too lazy to cook will starve (Contemporary English Version)

12:27b

but a diligent man prizes his possession: The three main interpretations of this line are:

(1) A diligent person will obtain precious/valuable wealth. For example:

but the diligent man will get precious wealth (English Standard Version)

(2) A diligent person prizes/values his wealth. For example:

but personal possessions are precious to the diligent (NET Bible)

(3) Diligence is a person’s precious possession. For example:

diligence is anyone’s most precious possession (New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions. Some other ways to translate this line are:

but a hard worker will have great wealth (New Century Version)
-or-
but a hard-working person becomes wealthy (God’s Word)

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