”Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; And an idle soul shall suffer hunger.“
Proverbs 19:15
There are some very strong words used in this passage. There are some very strong ideas the strong words they represent.
Slothfulness= Indolence. Indolence is habitual laziness and an aversion to any form of discomfort.
Casteth= To be cast down, as in thrown, forced or knocked to the ground. Like a fighter knocking his opponent out (unconscious).
Deep Sleep= Trance. It is important to note this is the same idea used when God put Adam, the first man, into a deep sleep and removed one of his ribs out of which to form the Woman, Eve. So, using that as an analogy, the deep sleep could be considered as putting someone to sleep for a surgery.
Idle= slackness and treachery, deceit and guile.
Soul= The living being.
Hunger= this particular use appears to be preceded by the word, “suffer,” as it is meant to paint a portrait of someone being starved. As in they have been caged or tied up and are only being fed when it suits the captor.
When we put these meanings together it creates a dialogue which could read something like this:
A person who exhibits habitual laziness and aversion to discomfort will be kicked to the ground and beaten into unconsciousness where they will remain.
And, the person who is deceitful and practices guile for gain and their existence will be trapped in a prison and starved for the amusement of their captor.
It appears the Author had seen people who were either work averse or deceitful for gain destroyed because of their choices. The Author appears to be explaining it is better to earn your way through life because refusing to work will lead to destruction.