Mishle 30
Orthodox Jewish Bible
30 The devarim of Agur Ben Yakeh, even the massa; the gever (man) spoke unto Itiel, even unto Itiel and Uchal:
2 Surely I am more stupid than any ish, and have not the binat adam.
3 I neither learned chochmah, nor have the da’as of the kadoshim.
4 Who hath ascended into Shomayim, or descended? Who hath gathered ruach in the hollows of His hands? Who hath bound the mayim in a cloak? Who hath established all the afsei aretz (ends of the earth)? What is Shmo (His Name), and what is Shem Bno (the Name of His Son [See Memra, creative Word of G-d in Targumim]), if thou canst tell?
5 Every word of G-d is flawless; He is a mogen unto them that take refuge in Him.
6 Add thou not unto His devarim, lest He rebuke thee, and thou be found a kazav (liar).
7 Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before my mot;
8 Remove far from me shav (vanity, falsehood) and davar kazav (word of a liar); give me neither poverty nor osher; feed me lechem chukki (my daily bread);
9 Lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say, Who is Hashem? Or lest I be poor, and become a ganav, and profane the Shem of Elohai.
10 Do not slander an eved unto his adon, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
11 There is a dor (generation) that curseth its av, and doth not make a bracha on its em.
12 There is a dor (generation) that is tahor (pure) in its own eynayim, and yet is not washed from its filthiness.
13 There is a dor (generation), O how haughty in loftiness are their eynayim! And their eyelids are proudly lifted up.
14 There is a dor (generation), whose teeth are as charavot (swords), and their jaw teeth are as knives, to devour the aniyim (oppressed poor ones) from off ha’aretz, and the evyonim (needy ones) from among adam.
15 The leech hath two banot: Give! Give! There are shalosh (three) that are never satisfied, indeed, four things never say, Enough!
16 Sheol, and the barren womb; eretz that is never satisfied with mayim; and eish that saith not, Enough!
17 The ayin (eye) that mocketh at av, and scorneth to obey em, the ravens of the valley shall peck it out, and the bnei nesher shall eat it.
18 There are shalosh which are too wonderful for me, indeed, four which I understand not;
19 The derech hanesher (way of the eagle) in the sky; the derech nachash upon a tzur (rock); the derech oniyah (way of a sailing vessel) in the midst of the yam (sea); and the derech gever (way of a man) with an almah (unmarried young virgin; see Gn 24:43,16,63-65.
20 Such is the derech isha mena’efet (way of an adulterous woman): she eateth, and wipeth her peh (mouth), and saith, I have done no wrong.
21 For shalosh the eretz is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:
22 For an eved (slave) when he reigneth; and a naval (fool) when he is full with lechem;
23 For an unloved woman when she is married; and a shifchah that displaces her gevirah (lady, mistress).
24 There are four things which are little upon eretz, but they are exceeding chachamim:
25 The nemalim (ants) are an am (people) not strong, yet they store up their lechem in the kayitz (summer);
26 The badgers are but a feeble folk, yet they make their bais in the rocks;
27 The arbeh (locusts) have no melech, yet they go forth all of them in ranks;
28 The lizard can be held in the hands, yet is in heikhelot (palaces) of a melech.
29 There are shloshah which are majestic in stride, indeed, four are stately in walk:
30 A lion which is gibbor among behemah (beasts), and retreateth not from any;
31 The strutting rooster; the he-goat also; and a melech, when his army is with him.
32 If thou hast done foolishly in exalting thyself, or if thou hast devised rah, lay thine yad upon thy peh.
33 Surely the churning of cholov (milk) bringeth forth khemah (butter), and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth dahm; so the stirring up of anger bringeth forth strife.
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.”
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
