Proverbs 30
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Sayings of Agur
30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. An oracle.
Thus says the man: I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and am wasting away.[a](A)
2 Surely I am too stupid to be human;
I do not have human understanding.(B)
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the holy ones.[b](C)
4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of the hand?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is the person’s name?
And what is the name of the person’s child?
Surely you know!(D)
5 Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.(E)
6 Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you, and you be found a liar.(F)
7 Two things I ask of you;
do not deny them to me before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that I need,(G)
9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.(H)
10 Do not slander a servant to a master,
lest the servant curse you, and you be held guilty.(I)
11 There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.(J)
12 There are those who are pure in their own eyes,
yet are not cleansed of their filthiness.(K)
13 There are those—how lofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!—(L)
14 there are those whose teeth are swords,
whose teeth are knives
to devour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mortals.(M)
15 The leech has two daughters;
“Give, give,” they cry.
Three things are never satisfied;
four never say, “Enough”:
16 Sheol, the barren womb,
the earth ever-thirsty for water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough.”(N)
17 The eye that mocks a father
and scorns to obey a mother
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.(O)
18 Three things are too wonderful for me;
four I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a woman.
20 This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done no wrong.”(P)
21 Under three things the earth trembles;
under four it cannot bear up:
22 a slave when he becomes king
and a fool when glutted with food,(Q)
23 a contemptible woman when she gets a husband
and a maid when she supplants her mistress.
24 Four things on earth are small,
yet they are exceedingly wise:
25 the ants are a people without strength,
yet they provide their food in the summer;(R)
26 the badgers are a people without power,
yet they make their homes in the rocks;(S)
27 the locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in rank;
28 the lizard[c] can be grasped in the hand,
yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
29 Three things are stately in their stride;
four are stately in their gait:
30 the lion, which is mightiest among wild animals
and does not turn back before any;(T)
31 the strutting rooster,[d] the he-goat,
and a king against whom none can stand.
Proverbs 30
Common English Bible
Words of Agur
30 The words of Agur, Jakeh’s son, from Massa.
The man declares: I’m tired, God;
I’m tired, God, and I’m exhausted.
2 Actually, I’m too stupid to be human,
a man without understanding.
3 I haven’t learned wisdom,
nor do I have knowledge of the holy one.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind by the handful?
Who has bound up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is this person’s name and the name of this person’s child—
if you know it?
5 All God’s words are tried and true;
a shield for those who take refuge in him.
6 Don’t add to his words,
or he will correct you and show you to be a liar.
7 Two things I ask of you;
don’t keep them from me before I die:
8 Fraud and lies—
keep far from me!
Don’t give me either poverty or wealth;
give me just the food I need.
9 Or I’ll be full and deny you,
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or I’ll be poor and steal,
and dishonor my God’s name.
More sayings of the wise
10 Don’t slander a servant to his master;
otherwise, the servant will curse you, and you will be guilty.
11 There are those who curse their father
and don’t bless their mother.
12 There are those who think they are clean,
but haven’t washed off their own excrement.
13 There are those—
how arrogant are their eyes;
how their eyebrows are raised!
14 There are those whose teeth are swords;
their jaw is a butcher’s knife,
ready to devour the needy from the earth,
and the poor from humanity.
15 The leech has two daughters: “Give, give!”
There are three things that are never satisfied,
four that never say, “Enough!”:
16 the grave[a] and a barren womb,
a land never filled with water,
and fire that doesn’t say, “Enough!”
17 An eye that mocks a father
and rejects obedience to a mother,
may the ravens of the river valley peck it out,
and the eagle’s young eat it.
18 Three things are too wonderful for me,
four that I can’t figure out:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on the rock,
the way of a ship out on the open sea,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20 This is the way of an adulterous woman:
she eats and wipes her mouth,
and she says, “I’ve done nothing wrong!”
21 At three things the earth trembles,
at four it can’t bear up:
22 at a servant when he becomes king
and fools when they are full of food;
23 at a detested woman when she gets married
and a female servant when she replaces her mistress.
24 Four things are among the smallest on earth,
but they are extremely wise:
25 Ants as creatures aren’t strong,
but they store away their food in the summer.
26 Badgers as creatures aren’t powerful,
but they make their homes in the rocks.
27 Locusts don’t have a king,
but they march together in ranks.
28 You can catch lizards in your hand,
but they are in kings’ palaces.
29 There are three things that are excellent in their stride,
four that are excellent as they walk:
30 a lion, a warrior among beasts,
which doesn’t back down at anything;
31 the strut of a rooster or a male goat;
and a king with his army.
32 If you’ve been foolish and arrogant,
if you’ve been scheming,
put your hand to your mouth,
33 because churning milk makes curds,
squeezing the nose brings blood,
and stirring up anger produces strife.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:16 Heb Sheol
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible