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Proverbs 30
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
Proverbs 30
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh of Massa: The man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ucal:
2 Surely I am too brutish and stupid to be called a man, and I have not the understanding of a man [for all my secular learning is as nothing].
3 I have not learned skillful and godly Wisdom, that I should have the knowledge or burden of the Holy One.
4 Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, if you know?(A)
5 Every word of God is tried and purified; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.(B)
6 Add not to His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.
7 Two things have I asked of You [O Lord]; deny them not to me before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 Lest I be full and deny You and say, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal, and so profane the name of my God.(C)
10 Do not accuse and hurt a servant before his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty [of adding to the burdens of the lowly].
11 There is a class of people who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
12 There is a class of people who are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their own filth.
13 There is a class of people—oh, how lofty are their eyes and their raised eyelids!
14 There is a class of people whose teeth are as swords and whose fangs as knives, to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among men.
15 The leech has two daughters, crying, Give, give! There are three things that are never satisfied, yes, four that do not say, It is enough:
16 Sheol (the place of the dead), the barren womb, the earth that is not satisfied with water, and the fire that says not, It is enough.
17 The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out, and the young vultures will devour it.(D)
18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me, yes, four which I do not understand:
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 This is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, I have done no wickedness.
21 Under three things the earth is disquieted, and under four it cannot bear up:
22 Under a servant when he reigns, a [empty-headed] fool when he is filled with food,
23 An unloved and repugnant woman when she is married, and a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.
24 There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise:
25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they lay up their food in the summer;(E)
26 The conies are but a feeble folk, yet they make their houses in the rocks;(F)
27 The locusts have no king, yet they go forth all of them by bands;
28 The lizard you can seize with your hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.
29 There are three things which are stately in step, yes, four which are stately in their stride:
30 The lion, which is mightiest among beasts and turns not back before any;
31 The war horse [well-knit in the loins], the male goat also, and the king [when his army is with him and] against whom there is no uprising.
32 If you have done foolishly in exalting yourself, or if you have thought evil, lay your hand upon your mouth.(G)
33 Surely the churning of milk brings forth butter, and the wringing of the nose brings forth blood; so the forcing of wrath brings forth strife.
Proverbs 30
Names of God Bible
Proverbs 30
Names of God Bible
30 The words of Agur, son of Jakeh. Agur’s prophetic revelation.
Agur Speaks about God
[To God]
This man’s declaration:
“I’m weary, O El.
I’m weary and worn out, O El.
2 I’m more like a dumb animal than a human being.
I don’t even have human understanding.
3 I haven’t learned wisdom.
I don’t have knowledge of the Holy One.[a]
[To the audience]
4 “Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in the palm of his hand?
Who has wrapped water in a garment?
Who has set up the earth from one end to the other?
What is his name or the name of his son?
Certainly, you must know!
5 “Every word of Eloah has proven to be true.
He is a Magen to those who come to him for protection.
6 Do not add to his words,
or he will reprimand you, and you will be found to be a liar.
A Prayer
[To God]
7 “I’ve asked you for two things.
Don’t keep them from me before I die:
8 Keep vanity and lies far away from me.
Don’t give me either poverty or riches.
Feed me only the food I need,
9 or I may feel satisfied and deny you
and say, ‘Who is Yahweh?’
or I may become poor and steal
and give the name of my Elohim a bad reputation.
Against Slander
[To the audience]
10 “Do not slander a slave to his master.
The slave will curse you,
and you will be found guilty.”
Four Kinds of People
11 A certain kind of person curses his father
and does not bless his mother.
12 A certain kind of person thinks he is pure
but is not washed from his own feces.[b]
13 A certain kind of person looks around arrogantly
and is conceited.
14 A certain kind of person,
whose teeth are like swords
and whose jaws are like knives,
devours oppressed people from the earth
and people from among humanity.
Human Bloodsuckers
15 The bloodsucking leech has two daughters—“Give!” and “Give!”
Four Things That Are Never Satisfied
Three things are never satisfied.
Four never say, “Enough!”:
16 the grave,
a barren womb,
a land that never gets enough water,
a fire that does not say, “Enough!”
Disrespectful Children—Their Punishment
17 The eye that makes fun of a father and hates to obey a mother
will be plucked out by ravens in the valley and eaten by young vultures.
Four Things of Intrigue
18 Three things are too amazing to me,
even four that I cannot understand:
19 an eagle making its way through the sky,
a snake making its way over a rock,
a ship making its way through high seas,
a man making his way with a virgin.
About the Woman Who Commits Adultery
20 This is the way of a woman who commits adultery:
She eats, wipes her mouth,
and says, “I haven’t done anything wrong!”
Four Things That Are Intolerable
21 Three things cause the earth to tremble,
even four it cannot bear up under:
22 a slave when he becomes king,
a godless fool when he is filled with food,
23 a woman who is unloved when she gets married,
a maid when she replaces her mistress.
Four Things That Are Small—Yet Smart and Strong
24 Four things on earth are small,
yet they are very wise:
25 Ants are not a strong species,
yet they store their food in summer.
26 Rock badgers are not a mighty species,
yet they make their home in the rocks.
27 Locusts have no king,
yet all of them divide into swarms by instinct.
28 A lizard you can hold in your hands,
yet it can even be found in royal palaces.
Four Things That Move with Dignity
29 There are three things that walk with dignity,
even four that march with dignity:
30 a lion, mightiest among animals, which turns away from nothing,
31 a strutting rooster,[c]
a male goat,
a king at the head of his army.[d]
Keep Calm and Quiet
32 If you are such a godless fool as to honor yourself,
or if you scheme,
you had better put your hand over your mouth.
33 As churning milk produces butter
and punching a nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger[e] produces a fight.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:3 Or “holy ones.”
- Proverbs 30:12 Blunt Hebrew term but not considered vulgar.
- Proverbs 30:31 Hebrew meaning of this line uncertain.
- Proverbs 30:31 Hebrew meaning of “at the head of his army” uncertain.
- Proverbs 30:33 In Hebrew there is a play on words in verse 33 where the same verb is used to express all three actions.
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.
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Names of God Bible (NOG)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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