Proverbs 30
Modern English Version
The Sayings of Agur
30 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle.
The man declares to Ithiel,
to Ithiel and Ukal:
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 has ascended up into heaven, or descended?
Who has gathered the wind in his fists?
Who has bound the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is His name, and what is the name of His son,
if you know?
5 Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6 Do not add to His words,
lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.
7 Two things I have required of you;
do not deny me them before I die:
8 Remove vanity and lies far from me—
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with food convenient for me;
9 lest I be full, and deny You,
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor, and steal,
and take the name of my God in vain.
10 Do not accuse a servant to his master,
lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.
11 There is a generation that curses their father,
and does not bless its mother.
12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,
and yet is not washed from its filthiness.
13 There is a generation—oh, 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 leech has two daughters,
crying, “Give, give.”
There are three things that are never satisfied,
indeed, four things never say, “It is enough”:
16 the grave, the barren womb,
the earth that is not filled with water,
and the fire that never says, “It is enough.”
17 The eye that mocks at his father,
and despises to obey his mother,
the ravens of the valley will pick it out,
and the young eagles will eat it.
18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
indeed, four which I do not know:
19 the way of an eagle in the air,
the way of a serpent on 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 eats and wipes her mouth,
and says, “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 reigns,
and a fool when he is filled with food,
23 for a hateful woman when she is married,
and a handmaid who is heir to her mistress.
24 There are 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 food in the summer;
26 the badgers are but a feeble folk,
yet they make their houses in the rocks;
27 the locusts have no king,
yet they go forth all of them by bands;
28 the spider takes hold with her hands,
and is in kings’ palaces.
29 There are three things which go well,
indeed, four are comely in going:
30 a lion which is strongest among beasts,
and does not turn away for any;
31 a strutting rooster, a male goat also,
and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
32 If you have been foolish in lifting up yourself,
or if you have thought evil,
put your hand on your mouth.
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
Lexham English Bible
The Oracle of Agur
30 The words of Agur, son of Yakeh, the oracle.
Thus says the man to Ithiel, to Ithiel, and Ucal:[a]
2 Certainly I am more stupid than a man,
and the understanding of humankind is not for me.
3 And I have not learned wisdom,
nor will I know knowledge of the Holy One.[b]
4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of his hand?
Who has wrapped water in a[c] garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name and what is the name of his child?
For surely you know.
5 Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield for him who takes refuge in him.
6 Do not add to his words
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
7 Two things I ask from you;
do not deny me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and a lying word[d] far from me;
do not give me poverty or wealth;
provide me with food only for my need.
9 Or else I will be satisfied and will deny him
and say “Who is Yahweh?”
Or[e] I will be poor and will steal
and profane the name of my God.
10 Do not slander a servant to his master,
or else he will curse you and you will be guilty.
11 There is a generation that will curse its father,
and its mother it will not bless.
12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,
but from its filthiness it will not be cleansed.
13 There is a generation—how lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids they will lift.
14 There is a generation whose teeth are swords,
and its jawbones, knives,
in order to devour the poor from the earth[f]
and the needy from humankind.
15 For the leech, there are two daughters;
“Give, give!” they cry.
As for three of these, they are not satisfied;
as for four, they do not say enough.
16 Sheol[g] and barrenness of womb,
the land is not satisfied with water,
and fire does not say “enough!”
17 The eye that mocks a father
and scorns the obedience of a mother—
the ravens of the valley will peck it out,
and the offspring of vultures will eat it.
18 Three of these are too wonderful for me,
and four, I do not understand them:
19 the way of the eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship in the heart of the sea,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20 This is the way of a woman committing adultery:
she eats and wipes her mouth,
and says “I have not done wrong.”
21 Under three things the earth[h] trembles,
and under four, it is not able to bear up:
22 under a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is satisfied with food;
23 under an unloved woman when she gets married,
and a maid when she succeeds her mistress.
24 There are four small things on the earth,
and they are exceedingly wise:[i]
25 The ants are a people who are not strong,
yet they prepare their food in the summer;
26 the badgers are a people who are not mighty,
yet they set their house on the rock;
27 there is no king for the locust,
yet it marches in rank;
28 a lizard you can seize with hands,
yet it is in palaces of kings.
29 There are three things that are magnificent of stride,
and four that are magnificent when moving:
30 a mighty lion among the beasts,[j]
but he will not turn back from any face;[k]
31 a strutting rooster or he-goat,
and a king whose army is with him.
32 If you have been foolish by exalting yourself,
and if you have devised evil, put your hand to your mouth.
33 For pressing milk produces curd,
and pressing the nose produces blood,
so pressing anger[l] produces strife.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:1 Or “I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out”
- Proverbs 30:3 Or “holy ones”
- Proverbs 30:4 Hebrew “the”
- Proverbs 30:8 Literally “word of a lie”
- Proverbs 30:9 Or “Lest”
- Proverbs 30:14 Or “land”
- Proverbs 30:16 A term for the place where the dead reside, i.e., the Underworld
- Proverbs 30:21 Or “land”
- Proverbs 30:24 Literally “wise ones from wise ones”
- Proverbs 30:30 Hebrew “beasts”
- Proverbs 30:30 Literally “faces of all”
- Proverbs 30:33 Literally “nostrils”
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