Font Size
Proverbs 30
King James Version
Proverbs 30
King James Version
30 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
2 Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.
3 I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.
4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
7 Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:
8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
10 Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
11 There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
14 There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
15 The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
17 The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.
18 There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.
20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
21 For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:
22 For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;
23 For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
24 There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
26 The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
27 The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
28 The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.
29 There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:
30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
31 A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
32 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
33 Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
Proverbs 30
New International Version
Proverbs 30
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.”
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 30
Good News Translation
Proverbs 30
Good News Translation
The Words of Agur
30 These are the solemn words of Agur son of Jakeh:
“God is not with me, God is not with me,
and I am helpless.[a]
2 I am more like an animal than a human being;
I do not have the sense we humans should have.
3 I have never learned any wisdom,
and I know nothing at all about God.
4 Have any ever mastered heavenly knowledge?
Have any ever caught the wind in their hands?
Or wrapped up water in a piece of cloth?
Or fixed the boundaries of the earth?
Who are they, if you know? Who are their children?
5 “God keeps every promise he makes. He is like a shield for all who seek his protection. 6 If you claim that he said something that he never said, he will reprimand you and show that you are a liar.”
More Proverbs
7 I ask you, God, to let me have two things before I die: 8 keep me from lying, and let me be neither rich nor poor. So give me only as much food as I need. 9 If I have more, I might say that I do not need you. But if I am poor, I might steal and bring disgrace on my God.
10 Never criticize servants to their master. You will be cursed and suffer for it.
11 There are people who curse their fathers and do not show their appreciation for their mothers.
12 There are people who think they are pure when they are as filthy as they can be.
13 There are people who think they are so good—oh, how good they think they are!
14 There are people who take cruel advantage of the poor and needy; that is the way they make their living.
15 A leech has two daughters, and both are named “Give me!”
There are four things that are never satisfied:
16 the world of the dead,
a woman without children,
dry ground that needs rain,
and a fire burning out of control.
17 If you make fun of your father or despise your mother in her old age,[b] you ought to be eaten by vultures or have your eyes picked out by wild ravens.
18 There are four things that are too mysterious for me to understand:
19 (A)an eagle flying in the sky,
a snake moving on a rock,
a ship finding its way over the sea,
and a man and a woman falling in love.
20 This is how an unfaithful wife acts: she commits adultery, takes a bath, and says, “But I haven't done anything wrong!”
21 There are four things that the earth itself cannot tolerate:
22 a slave who becomes a king,
a fool who has all he wants to eat,
23 a hateful woman who gets married,
and a servant woman who takes the place of her mistress.
24 There are four animals in the world that are small, but very, very clever:
25 Ants: they are weak, but they store up their food in the summer.
26 Rock badgers: they are not strong either, but they make their homes among the rocks.
27 Locusts: they have no king, but they move in formation.
28 Lizards: you can hold one in your hand, but you can find them in palaces.
29 There are four things that are impressive to watch as they walk:
30 lions, strongest of all animals and afraid of none;
31 goats, strutting roosters,
and kings in front of their people.[c]
32 If you have been foolish enough to be arrogant and plan evil, stop and think! 33 If you churn milk, you get butter. If you hit someone's nose, it bleeds. If you stir up anger, you get into trouble.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:1 Probable text “God … helpless; Hebrew unclear.
- Proverbs 30:17 One ancient translation mother in her old age; Hebrew mother's obedience.
- Proverbs 30:31 Verse 31 in Hebrew is unclear.
Proverbs 30
New Century Version
Proverbs 30
New Century Version
Wise Words from Agur
30 These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh.
This is his message to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 “I am the most stupid person there is,
and I have no understanding.
3 I have not learned to be wise,
and I don’t know much about God, the Holy One.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come back down?
Who can hold the wind in his hand?
Who can gather up the waters in his coat?
Who has set in place the ends of the earth?
What is his name or his son’s name?
Tell me, if you know!
5 “Every word of God is true.
He guards those who come to him for safety.
6 Do not add to his words,
or he will correct you and prove you are a liar.
7 “I ask two things from you, Lord.
Don’t refuse me before I die.
8 Keep me from lying and being dishonest.
And don’t make me either rich or poor;
just give me enough food for each day.
9 If I have too much, I might reject you
and say, ‘I don’t know the Lord.’
If I am poor, I might steal
and disgrace the name of my God.
10 “Do not say bad things about servants to their masters,
or they will curse you, and you will suffer for it.
11 “Some people curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12 Some people think they are pure,
but they are not really free from evil.
13 Some people have such a proud look!
They look down on others.
14 Some people have teeth like swords;
their jaws seem full of knives.
They want to remove the poor from the earth
and the needy from the land.
15 “Greed has two daughters
named ‘Give’ and ‘Give.’
There are three things that are never satisfied,
really four that never say, ‘I’ve had enough!’:
16 the cemetery, the childless mother,
the land that never gets enough rain,
and fire that never says, ‘I’ve had enough!’
17 “If you make fun of your father
and refuse to obey your mother,
the birds of the valley will peck out your eyes,
and the vultures will eat them.
18 “There are three things that are too hard for me,
really four I don’t understand:
19 the way an eagle flies in the sky,
the way a snake slides over a rock,
the way a ship sails on the sea,
and the way a man and a woman fall in love.
20 “This is the way of a woman who takes part in adultery:
She acts as if she had eaten and washed her face;
she says, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’
21 “There are three things that make the earth tremble,
really four it cannot stand:
22 a servant who becomes a king,
a foolish person who has plenty to eat,
23 a hated woman who gets married,
and a maid who replaces her mistress.
24 “There are four things on earth that are small,
but they are very wise:
25 Ants are not very strong,
but they store up food in the summer.
26 Rock badgers are not very powerful,
but they can live among the rocks.
27 Locusts have no king,
but they all go forward in formation.
28 Lizards can be caught in the hand,
but they are found even in kings’ palaces.
29 “There are three things that strut proudly,
really four that walk as if they were important:
30 a lion, the proudest animal,
which is strong and runs from nothing,
31 a rooster, a male goat,
and a king when his army is around him.
32 “If you have been foolish and proud,
or if you have planned evil, shut your mouth.
33 Just as stirring milk makes butter,
and twisting noses makes them bleed,
so stirring up anger causes trouble.”
Proverbs 30
The Message
Proverbs 30
The Message
The Words of Agur Ben Yakeh
God? Who Needs Him?
30 1-2 The skeptic swore, “There is no God!
No God!—I can do anything I want!
I’m more animal than human;
so-called human intelligence escapes me.
3-4 “I flunked ‘wisdom.’
I see no evidence of a holy God.
Has anyone ever seen Anyone
climb into Heaven and take charge?
grab the winds and control them?
gather the rains in his bucket?
stake out the ends of the earth?
Just tell me his name, tell me the names of his sons.
Come on now—tell me!”
5-6 The believer replied, “Every promise of God proves true;
he protects everyone who runs to him for help.
So don’t second-guess him;
he might take you to task and show up your lies.”
7-9 And then he prayed, “God, I’m asking for two things
before I die; don’t refuse me—
Banish lies from my lips
and liars from my presence.
Give me enough food to live on,
neither too much nor too little.
If I’m too full, I might get independent,
saying, ‘God? Who needs him?’
If I’m poor, I might steal
and dishonor the name of my God.”
* * *
10 Don’t blow the whistle on your fellow workers
behind their backs;
They’ll accuse you of being underhanded,
and then you’ll be the guilty one!
11 Don’t curse your father
or fail to bless your mother.
12 Don’t imagine yourself to be quite presentable
when you haven’t had a bath in weeks.
13 Don’t be stuck-up
and think you’re better than everyone else.
14 Don’t be greedy,
merciless and cruel as wolves,
Tearing into the poor and feasting on them,
shredding the needy to pieces only to discard them.
15-16 A freeloader has twin daughters
named “Gimme” and “Gimme more.”
Four Insatiables
Three things are never satisfied,
no, there are four that never say, “That’s enough, thank you!”—
hell,
a barren womb,
a parched land,
a forest fire.
* * *
17 An eye that disdains a father
and despises a mother—
that eye will be plucked out by wild vultures
and consumed by young eagles.
Four Mysteries
18-19 Three things amaze me,
no, four things I’ll never understand—
how an eagle flies so high in the sky,
how a snake glides over a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
why adolescents act the way they do.
* * *
20 Here’s how a prostitute operates:
she has sex with her client,
Takes a bath,
then asks, “Who’s next?”
Four Intolerables
21-23 Three things are too much for even the earth to bear,
yes, four things shake its foundations—
when the janitor becomes the boss,
when a fool gets rich,
when a prostitute is voted “woman of the year,”
when a “girlfriend” replaces a faithful wife.
Four Small Wonders
24-28 There are four small creatures,
wisest of the wise they are—
ants—frail as they are,
get plenty of food in for the winter;
marmots—vulnerable as they are,
manage to arrange for rock-solid homes;
locusts—leaderless insects,
yet they strip the field like an army regiment;
lizards—easy enough to catch,
but they sneak past vigilant palace guards.
Four Dignitaries
29-31 There are three solemn dignitaries,
four that are impressive in their bearing—
a lion, king of the beasts, deferring to none;
a rooster, proud and strutting;
a billy goat;
a head of state in stately procession.
* * *
32-33 If you’re dumb enough to call attention to yourself
by offending people and making rude gestures,
Don’t be surprised if someone bloodies your nose.
Churned milk turns into butter;
riled emotions turn into fist fights.
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.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Century Version (NCV) 
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson