Question: idle hands are the devil's workshop proverbs?
Answer: Only The Living Bible of 1971 injects the idea of idleness into its translation: Idle hands are the devil's workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece. (TLB also adds the literal translation: A worthless man devises mischief; and in his lips there is a scorching fire.) Proverbs 16:27 may have inspired St.