Proverbs 30

The Words of Agur

1 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.[a] The man's oration to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:[b]
2 I am the least intelligent of men,[c] and I lack man's ability to understand.
3 I have not gained wisdom, and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.[d]
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?[e] Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in a cloak?[f] Who has established all the ends of the earth?[g] What is His name, and what is the name of His Son- if you know?[h]
5 Every word of God is pure;[i] [j] He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
6 Don't add to His words,[k] or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.
7 Two things I ask of You; don't deny them to me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need.[l]
9 Otherwise, I might have too much and deny You, saying, "Who is the Lord?"[m] or I might have nothing and steal, profaning[n] the name of my God.
10 Don't slander a servant to his master, or he will curse you, and you will become guilty.
11 There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother.
12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filth.
13 There is a generation-how haughty its eyes and pretentious its looks.[o]
14 There is a generation whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, devouring the oppressed from the land and the needy from among mankind.
15 The leech has two daughters: Give, Give. Three things are never satisfied; four never say, "Enough!":
16 Sheol;[p] a barren womb; earth, which is never satisfied with water; and fire, which never says, "Enough!"
17 As for the eye that ridicules a father and despises obedience to a mother, may ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures eat it.
18 Three things are beyond me; four I can't understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship at sea, and the way of a man with a young woman.
20 This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, "I've done nothing wrong."
21 The earth trembles under three things; it cannot bear up under four:
22 a servant when he becomes king, a fool when he is stuffed with food,
23 an unloved woman when she marries, and a serving girl when she ousts her lady.[q]
24 Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise:
25 the ants are not a strong people, yet they store up their food in the summer;[r]
26 hyraxes are not a mighty people, yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27 locusts have no king, yet all of them march in ranks;
28 a lizard[s] can be caught in your hands, yet it lives in kings' palaces.
29 Three things are stately in their stride, even four are stately in their walk:
30 a lion, which is mightiest among beasts and doesn't retreat before anything,
31 a strutting rooster,[t] a goat, and a king at the head of his army.[u]
32 If you have been foolish by exalting yourself, or if you've been scheming, put your hand over your mouth.
33 For the churning of milk produces butter, and twisting a nose draws blood, and stirring up anger produces strife.

Footnotes 21

  • [a]. Or The burden, or Jakeh from Massa; Pr 31:1
  • [b]. Hb uncertain. Sometimes read with different word division as oration: I am weary, God, I am weary, God, and I am exhausted, or oration: I am not God, I am not God, that I should prevail. LXX reads My son, fear my words and when you have received them repent. The man says these things to the believers in God, and I pause.
  • [c]. Lit I am more stupid than a man
  • [d]. Pr 9:10
  • [e]. Jn 3:13; Eph 4:9-10
  • [f]. Jb 26:8; 38:9
  • [g]. Jb 38:4-5; Ps 93:1; 119:90
  • [h]. Mt 11:27; Rv 19:12-13
  • [i]. Lit refined, like metal
  • [j]. Ps 12:6; 18:30
  • [k]. Dt 4:2; 12:32; Rv 22:18
  • [l]. Pr 31:15; Mt 6:11
  • [m]. Dt 6:10-12; 8:11-14
  • [n]. Lit grabbing
  • [o]. Lit and its eyelids lifted up
  • [p]. Pr 27:20; Hab 2:5
  • [q]. Pr 19:10
  • [r]. Pr 6:6-8
  • [s]. Or spider
  • [t]. Or a greyhound
  • [u]. LXX reads king haranguing his people

Proverbs 30 Commentaries

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