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Proverbs 30-31
English Standard Version
Proverbs 30-31
English Standard Version
The Words of Agur
30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.[a]
The man declares, I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and worn out.[b]
2 Surely I am too (A)stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of (B)the Holy One.
4 Who has (C)ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has (D)gathered the wind in his fists?
Who has (E)wrapped up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all (F)the ends of the earth?
(G)What is his name, and what is his son's name?
Surely you know!
5 (H)Every word of God proves true;
he is (I)a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 (J)Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
7 Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me (K)before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is (L)needful for me,
9 lest I be (M)full and (N)deny you
and say, (O)“Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
(P)and profane the name of my God.
11 There are those[c] who (S)curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12 There are those who are (T)clean in their own eyes
but are not washed of their filth.
13 There are those—how (U)lofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!
14 There are those whose teeth are (V)swords,
whose (W)fangs are knives,
to (X)devour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mankind.
15 The leech has two daughters:
Give and Give.[d]
(Y)Three things are never satisfied;
(Z)four never say, “Enough”:
16 (AA)Sheol, (AB)the barren womb,
the land never satisfied with water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough.”
17 The eye that (AC)mocks a father
and (AD)scorns to obey a mother
will (AE)be picked out by (AF)the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.
18 (AG)Three things are (AH)too wonderful for me;
(AI)four I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a serpent on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a virgin.
20 This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done no wrong.”
21 Under (AJ)three things (AK)the earth trembles;
under (AL)four it cannot bear up:
22 (AM)a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is (AN)filled with food;
23 (AO)an unloved woman when she (AP)gets a husband,
and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
24 (AQ)Four things on earth are small,
but they are exceedingly wise:
25 (AR)the ants are a people not strong,
yet they provide their food in the summer;
26 (AS)the rock badgers are a people not mighty,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27 the locusts have no (AT)king,
yet all of them march in (AU)rank;
28 the lizard you can take in your hands,
yet it is in kings' palaces.
29 (AV)Three things are stately in their tread;
(AW)four are stately in their stride:
30 the lion, which is mightiest among beasts
and (AX)does not turn back before any;
31 the (AY)strutting rooster,[e] the he-goat,
and a king whose army is with him.[f]
32 If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,
or if you have been devising evil,
(AZ)put your hand on your mouth.
33 For pressing milk produces curds,
pressing the nose produces blood,
and pressing anger produces strife.
The Words of King Lemuel
31 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
2 What are you doing, my son?[g] What are you doing, (BA)son of my womb?
What are you doing, (BB)son of my vows?
3 Do (BC)not give your strength to women,
your ways to those (BD)who destroy kings.
4 (BE)It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings (BF)to drink wine,
or for rulers to take (BG)strong drink,
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
and (BH)pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to the one who (BI)is perishing,
and wine to (BJ)those in bitter distress;[h]
7 (BK)let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
8 (BL)Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.[i]
9 Open your mouth, (BM)judge righteously,
(BN)defend the rights of (BO)the poor and needy.
The Woman Who Fears the Lord
10 [j] (BP)An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than (BQ)jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She (BR)seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
15 She (BS)rises while it is yet night
and (BT)provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She (BU)dresses herself[k] with strength
and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
20 She (BV)opens her hand to (BW)the poor
and reaches out her hands to (BX)the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in (BY)scarlet.[l]
22 She makes (BZ)bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is (CA)fine linen and (CB)purple.
23 Her husband is known in (CC)the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes (CD)linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 (CE)Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many (CF)women have done (CG)excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
30 (CH)Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:1 Or Jakeh, the man of Massa
- Proverbs 30:1 Revocalization; Hebrew The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal
- Proverbs 30:11 Hebrew There is a generation; also verses 12, 13, 14
- Proverbs 30:15 Or “Give, give,” they cry
- Proverbs 30:31 Or the magpie, or the greyhound; Hebrew girt-of-loins
- Proverbs 30:31 Or against whom there is no rising up
- Proverbs 31:2 Hebrew What, my son?
- Proverbs 31:6 Hebrew those bitter in soul
- Proverbs 31:8 Hebrew are sons of passing away
- Proverbs 31:10 Verses 10–31 are an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
- Proverbs 31:17 Hebrew She girds her loins
- Proverbs 31:21 Or in double thickness
Proverbs 30-31
New International Version
Proverbs 30-31
New International Version
Sayings of Agur
30 The sayings(A) of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance.
This man’s utterance to Ithiel:
“I am weary, God,
but I can prevail.[a]
2 Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
I do not have human understanding.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.(B)
4 Who has gone up(C) to heaven and come down?
Whose hands(D) have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters(E) in a cloak?(F)
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name,(G) and what is the name of his son?
Surely you know!
5 “Every word of God is flawless;(H)
he is a shield(I) to those who take refuge in him.
6 Do not add(J) to his words,
or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.
7 “Two things I ask of you, Lord;
do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.(K)
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown(L) you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’(M)
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.(N)
10 “Do not slander a servant to their master,
or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.
11 “There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers;(O)
12 those who are pure in their own eyes(P)
and yet are not cleansed of their filth;(Q)
13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty,(R)
whose glances are so disdainful;
14 those whose teeth(S) are swords
and whose jaws are set with knives(T)
to devour(U) the poor(V) from the earth
and the needy from among mankind.(W)
15 “The leech has two daughters.
‘Give! Give!’ they cry.
“There are three things that are never satisfied,(X)
four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
16 the grave,(Y) the barren womb,
land, which is never satisfied with water,
and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’
17 “The eye that mocks(Z) a father,
that scorns an aged mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
will be eaten by the vultures.(AA)
18 “There are three things that are too amazing for me,
four that I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20 “This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth
and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’(AB)
21 “Under three things the earth trembles,
under four it cannot bear up:
22 a servant who becomes king,(AC)
a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
23 a contemptible woman who gets married,
and a servant who displaces her mistress.
24 “Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
25 Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer;(AD)
26 hyraxes(AE) are creatures of little power,
yet they make their home in the crags;
27 locusts(AF) have no king,
yet they advance together in ranks;
28 a lizard can be caught with the hand,
yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
29 “There are three things that are stately in their stride,
four that move with stately bearing:
30 a lion, mighty among beasts,
who retreats before nothing;
31 a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
and a king secure against revolt.[b]
32 “If you play the fool and exalt yourself,
or if you plan evil,
clap your hand over your mouth!(AG)
33 For as churning cream produces butter,
and as twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife.”
Sayings of King Lemuel
31 The sayings(AH) of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.
2 Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!(AI)
3 Do not spend your strength[c] on women,
your vigor on those who ruin kings.(AJ)
4 It is not for kings, Lemuel—
it is not for kings to drink wine,(AK)
not for rulers to crave beer,
5 lest they drink(AL) and forget what has been decreed,(AM)
and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
6 Let beer be for those who are perishing,
wine(AN) for those who are in anguish!
7 Let them drink(AO) and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
8 Speak(AP) up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.(AQ)
Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character
10 [d]A wife of noble character(AR) who can find?(AS)
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband(AT) has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.(AU)
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.(AV)
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.(AW)
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders(AX) of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.(AY)
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise(AZ) at the city gate.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:1 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text utterance to Ithiel, / to Ithiel and Ukal:
- Proverbs 30:31 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Proverbs 31:3 Or wealth
- Proverbs 31:10 Verses 10-31 are an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.