Proverbs 30
New King James Version
The Wisdom of Agur
30 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 (A)Surely I am more stupid than any man,
And do not have the understanding of a man.
3 I neither learned wisdom
Nor have (B)knowledge of the Holy One.
4 (C)Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?
(D)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 His Son’s name,
If you know?
5 (E)Every word of God is [a]pure;
(F)He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6 (G)Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
7 Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
(H)Feed me with the food allotted to me;
9 (I)Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.
10 Do not malign a servant to his master,
Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.
11 There is a generation that curses its (J)father,
And does not bless its mother.
12 There is a generation (K)that is pure in its own eyes,
Yet is not washed from its filthiness.
13 There is a generation—oh, how (L)lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids are [b]lifted up.
14 (M)There is a generation whose teeth are like swords,
And whose fangs are like knives,
(N)To devour the poor from off the earth,
And the needy from among men.
15 The leech has two daughters—
Give and Give!
There are three things that are never satisfied,
Four never say, “Enough!”:
16 (O)The[c] grave,
The barren womb,
The earth that is not satisfied with water—
And the fire never says, “Enough!”
17 (P)The eye that mocks his father,
And scorns obedience to 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,
Yes, four which I do not understand:
19 The way of an eagle in the air,
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a ship in the [d]midst of the sea,
And the way of a man with a virgin.
20 This 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 perturbed,
Yes, for four it cannot bear up:
22 (Q)For a servant when he reigns,
A fool when he is filled with food,
23 A [e]hateful woman when she is married,
And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.
24 There are four things which are little on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
25 (R)The ants are a people not strong,
Yet they prepare their food in the summer;
26 (S)The [f]rock badgers are a feeble folk,
Yet they make their homes in the crags;
27 The locusts have no king,
Yet they all advance in ranks;
28 The [g]spider skillfully grasps with its hands,
And it is in kings’ palaces.
29 There are three things which are majestic in pace,
Yes, four which are stately in walk:
30 A lion, which is mighty among beasts
And does not turn away from any;
31 A [h]greyhound,
A male goat also,
And [i]a king whose troops are with him.
32 If you have been foolish in exalting yourself,
Or if you have devised evil, (T)put your hand on your mouth.
33 For as the churning of milk produces butter,
And wringing the nose produces blood,
So the forcing of wrath produces strife.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:5 tested, refined, found pure
- Proverbs 30:13 In arrogance
- Proverbs 30:16 Or Sheol
- Proverbs 30:19 Lit. heart
- Proverbs 30:23 Or hated
- Proverbs 30:26 rock hyraxes
- Proverbs 30:28 Or lizard
- Proverbs 30:31 Or perhaps strutting rooster, lit. girded of waist
- Proverbs 30:31 A Jewish tradition a king against whom there is no uprising
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”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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