Proverbs 30
Living Bible
30 These are the messages of Agur, son of Jakeh, addressed to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 I am tired out, O God, and ready to die. I am too stupid even to call myself a human being! 3 I cannot understand man,[a] let alone God. 4 Who else but God goes back and forth to heaven? Who else holds the wind in his fists and wraps up the oceans in his cloak? Who but God has created the world? If there is any other, what is his name—and his Son’s name—if you know it?
5 Every word of God proves true. He defends all who come to him for protection. 6 Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
7 O God, I beg two favors from you before I die: 8 First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs! 9 For if I grow rich, I may become content without God. And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.
10 Never falsely accuse a man to his employer, lest he curse you for your sin.
11-12 There are those who curse their father and mother and feel themselves faultless despite their many sins. 13-14 They are proud beyond description, arrogant, disdainful. They devour the poor with teeth as sharp as knives!
15-16 There are two things never satisfied, like a leech forever craving more: no, three things! no, four! Hell, the barren womb, a barren desert, fire.
17 A man who mocks his father and despises his mother shall have his eye plucked out by ravens and eaten by vultures.
18-19 There are three things too wonderful for me to understand—no, four!
How an eagle glides through the sky.
How a serpent crawls upon a rock.
How a ship finds its way across the heaving ocean.
The growth of love between a man and a girl.[b]
20 There is another thing too: how a prostitute can sin and then say, “What’s wrong with that?”
21-23 There are three things that make the earth tremble—no, four it cannot stand:
A slave who becomes a king.
A rebel who prospers.
A bitter woman when she finally marries.
A servant girl who marries the husband of her mistress.[c]
24-28 There are four things that are small but unusually wise:
Ants: they aren’t strong, but store up food for the winter.
Cliff badgers: delicate little animals who protect themselves by living among the rocks.
The locusts: though they have no leader, they stay together in swarms.
The lizards: they are easy to catch and kill, yet are found even in king’s palaces!
29-31 There are three stately monarchs in the earth—no, four:
The lion, king of the animals. He won’t turn aside for anyone.
The peacock.
The male goat.
A king as he leads his army.
32 If you have been a fool by being proud or plotting evil, don’t brag about it—cover your mouth with your hand in shame.
33 As the churning of cream yields butter, and a blow to the nose causes bleeding, so anger causes quarrels.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:3 I cannot understand man, literally, “I have not learned wisdom.”
- Proverbs 30:18 The growth of love between a man and a girl, literally, “The way of a man with a maid.” Some linguists believe the meaning is, “Why a girl will let herself be seduced.”
- Proverbs 30:21 who marries the husband of her mistress, literally, “who succeeds her mistress.”
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.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson