- English translation
God provides for the dozer and the striver alike, and even for the one fast asleep on his side.
- Literal wording
He provides for the one who sleeps, and the one who goes out seeking pasture, and the one who lies asleep on his ear.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying holds that God, the unnamed but understood provider, sustains everyone, whatever their condition. The dozer, the one who goes far seeking a living, and the one lying on his ear, meaning sleeping on his side in deep slumber, all receive their share. The paired rhyming words for sleeper and seeker are old terms surviving mainly in sayings.
In practice it counsels trust and calm about livelihood. Effort is not condemned, but it is not treated as the sole source of what one receives. The point is that daily bread is guaranteed from above, so worry, envy of others' fortune, or scorn for the less active are all misplaced.
- When it is used
Suitable when someone frets over income or compares their hard work with another person's ease. It reminds listeners that sustenance comes from God rather than from effort alone, and can gently console the anxious or quietly check anyone who looks down on those who seem idle.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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