# the diligent

This nominal adjective can be translated as a noun phrase. AT: "a diligent man" or "a man who works hard" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-nominaladj]])

# comes only to poverty

The abstract noun "poverty" can be translated as an adjective. AT: "only becomes poor" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns]])

# Acquiring riches

"Gaining wealth"

# a lying tongue

The tongue is a metonym for the words a person uses the tongue to speak. AT: "speaking lies" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])

# a fleeting vapor

The writer likens the riches a person gains by lying to a mist that quickly goes away in the morning. AT: "a disappearing mist" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])

# a snare that kills

The writer speaks of the riches that a person gains by lying as if it were the bait in a hunter's trap; the word "snare" is a metonym for the bait that attracts the animal into the snare. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])