Solomon uses questions rather than commands to pierce the sluggard’s complacency by forcing self-examination of the endlessness of his rest and the indefinite postponement of action. The interrogative form exposes the absurdity of endless sleep more powerfully than a direct rebuke would, inviting the hearer to recognize his own foolishness.

The text records no verbal response from the sluggard. The subsequent verses (6:10-11) provide Solomon’s own answer, describing the sluggard’s typical reply of ‘a little sleep, a little slumber’ followed by the inevitable consequence of poverty arriving like an armed robber.

Solomon’s doubled question expresses exasperated concern over the sluggard’s self-destructive pattern. The first question, ‘How long will you lie there?’, employs the Hebrew עַד־מָתַי (ad-matay), expressing duration and implying the absurd length of time already wasted. The second question, ‘When will you arise?’, shifts from duration to decision point, demanding action. Solomon asks rather than commands because questions engage the will more directly than imperatives; the sluggard must confront the emptiness of his own answers. The double question structure mirrors the sluggard’s own double excuse in verse 10, exposing the cycle of delay. This rebuke carries theological weight because laziness isn’t merely inefficiency but rebellion against the Creator who ordained work before the fall and modeled creative labor in six days.