Proverbs 30
New American Standard Bible
The Words of Agur
30 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the pronouncement.
The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 I am certainly more (A)stupid than any man,
And I do not have the understanding of a man;
3 Nor have I learned wisdom,
Nor do I have the (B)knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has (C)ascended into heaven and descended?
Who has gathered the (D)wind in His fists?
Who has (E)wrapped the waters in [a]His garment?
Who has (F)established all the ends of the earth?
What is His (G)name or His [b]Son’s name?
Surely you know!
5 Every (H)word of God is [c]pure;
He is a (I)shield to those who take refuge in Him.
6 (J)Do not add to His words
Or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.
7 Two things I have asked of You;
Do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep deception and [d]lies far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the (K)food that is my portion,
9 So that I will not be (L)full and deny (M)You and say, “Who is the Lord?”
And that I will not become (N)impoverished and steal,
And (O)profane the name of my God.
10 Do not slander a slave to his master,
Or he will (P)curse you and you will be found guilty.
11 There is a [e]kind of person who (Q)curses his father
And does not bless his mother.
12 There is a [f]kind who is (R)pure in his own eyes,
Yet is not washed from his filthiness.
13 There is a [g]kind—oh how (S)lofty are his eyes!
And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.
14 There is a [h]kind of person whose (T)teeth are like swords
And his (U)jaw teeth like knives,
To (V)devour the poor from the earth
And the needy from among mankind.
15 The leech has two daughters:
“Give” and “Give.”
There are three things that will not be satisfied,
Four that will not say, “Enough”:
16 [i](W)Sheol, the (X)infertile womb,
Earth that is never satisfied with water,
And fire that never says, “Enough.”
17 The eye that (Y)mocks a father
And [j](Z)scorns a mother,
The (AA)ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young (AB)eagles will eat it.
18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Four which I do not understand:
19 The way of the (AC)eagle in the sky,
The way of a snake on a rock,
The way of a ship in the middle of the sea,
And the way of a man with a [k]virgin.
20 This is the way of an (AD)adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wrong.”
21 Under three things the earth quakes,
And under four, it cannot endure:
22 Under a (AE)slave when he becomes king,
And a fool when he is satisfied with food,
23 Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
And a female servant when she dispossesses her mistress.
24 Four things are small on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
25 The (AF)ants are not a strong people,
But they prepare their food in the summer;
26 The (AG)rock hyraxes are not a mighty people,
Yet they make their houses in the rocks;
27 The locusts have no king,
Yet all of them go out in (AH)ranks;
28 The lizard you may grasp with the hands,
Yet it is in kings’ palaces.
29 There are three things which are stately in their march,
Even four which are stately when they walk:
30 The lion, which is (AI)mighty among animals
And does not [l](AJ)retreat from anything,
31 The [m]strutting rooster or the male goat,
And a king when his army is with him.
32 If you have been foolish in exalting yourself,
Or if you have plotted evil, (AK)put your hand on your mouth.
33 For the [n]churning of milk produces butter,
And pressing the nose produces blood;
So the [o]churning of (AL)anger produces strife.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:4 Lit the
- Proverbs 30:4 Or son’s
- Proverbs 30:5 Lit refined
- Proverbs 30:8 Lit words of falsehood
- Proverbs 30:11 Or generation
- Proverbs 30:12 Or generation
- Proverbs 30:13 Or generation
- Proverbs 30:14 Or generation
- Proverbs 30:16 I.e., The netherworld
- Proverbs 30:17 Lit despises to obey
- Proverbs 30:19 Lit young unmarried woman
- Proverbs 30:30 Lit turn back
- Proverbs 30:31 Lit girt in the loins
- Proverbs 30:33 Lit pressing
- Proverbs 30:33 Lit pressing
Proverbs 30
International Standard Version
The Oracle
30 A discourse by the faithful collector.[a]
This is what this valiant man declared to the God with me,
to the God with me, who then prevailed:[b]
2 Surely I am beyond the senselessness of any man;
I do not perceive things[c] the way human beings do.
3 I never acquired wisdom,
but I know what the Holy One knows.
4 Who has ascended to heaven,
and then descended?
Who has collected the wind in his hands?
Who has wrapped up waters in a garment?
Who has established all the farthest points of the earth?
What is his name,
and what is his son’s name?
Surely you know!
5 Everything God says is pure;
he is a shield for those who take refuge in him.
6 Don’t add to his words,
or he will rebuke you,
and you will be shown to be a liar.
On Contentment in Life
7 God,[d] I have asked you for two things—
don’t refuse me before I die—
8 Keep deception and lies far away from me,
and give me neither poverty nor wealth.
Feed me with food that I need for today,[e]
9 so that I don’t become overfed and deny you by saying,
“Who is the Lord?”
or so that I don’t become poor and steal,
and then misuse the name of my God.
On Different Kinds of People
10 Don’t lie about a servant to his master,
or that servant[f] will curse you and you will pay for it.
11 Some people[g] curse their fathers
and won’t bless their mothers.
12 Some people[h] view themselves as pure,
but haven’t been cleansed from their own filth.
13 Some people[i]—what an arrogant look they have!—
raise their eyebrows haughtily.
14 Some people[j] have swords for teeth
and knives for fangs
to devour the afflicted from the earth
and the needy from among mankind.
15 The leech has two daughters:
“Give” and “Give”.
Three things will never be satisfied;
four will never say “Enough”—
16 The afterlife,[k] the barren womb,
earth that still demands water,
and fire—they never say, “Enough”.
17 The eye that mocks a father
and looks with a disobedient attitude at[l] a mother—
the valley ravens will pluck it out;
and vultures will eat it.
What Causes Wonder
18 Three things cause wonder for me;
four are beyond my understanding:
19 The way an eagle flies in the sky,
the way of a serpent 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 what an immoral woman is like:
she eats, wipes her mouth, then says
“I’ve done nothing wrong.”
21 Under three things the earth trembles,
under four it cannot remain steady:
22 Under a slave when he becomes a king,
a fool when he is overfed,
23 an unloved woman when she finds a husband,
and a servant girl who inherits from her mistress.
24 Four things on earth are small,
but they are very, very wise:
25 Ants aren’t a strong species,[m]
yet they prepare their food in the summer.
26 The rock badgers aren’t a strong species[n] either,
yet they build their dens in the rocks.
27 Locusts have no king,
but they all swarm in ranks.
28 Spiders can be caught by the hand,
yet they’re found in kings’ palaces.
29 Three things are stately in procession,
four which are stately in their gait:
30 The lion, mighty among the beasts,
retreats before nothing.
31 The strutting rooster, as well as the goat,
and a king with his army.
32 If you’ve foolishly exalted yourself
or if you’ve plotted evil,
put your hand over your mouth.
33 Just as whipping milk produces butter,
and twisting the nose causes bleeding,
so also stirring up anger produces contention.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:1 Or by Jakeh’s son Agur
- Proverbs 30:1 Or declared to Ithiel, to Ithiel, and Ucal
- Proverbs 30:2 The Heb. lacks things
- Proverbs 30:7 The Heb. lacks God
- Proverbs 30:8 Or that is appropriate for me
- Proverbs 30:10 Lit. or he
- Proverbs 30:11 Lit. A generation
- Proverbs 30:12 Lit. A generation
- Proverbs 30:13 Lit. A generation
- Proverbs 30:14 Lit. A generation
- Proverbs 30:16 Lit. Sheol; i.e. the realm of the dead
- Proverbs 30:17 Lit. and despises obedience to
- Proverbs 30:25 Lit. people
- Proverbs 30:26 Lit. people
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