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
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Words of Agur
The man’s oration to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:[b]
2 I am more stupid than any other man,[c]
and I lack man’s ability to understand.(B)
3 I have not gained wisdom,
and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.(C)
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?(D)
Who has gathered the wind in His hands?
Who has bound up the waters in a cloak?(E)
Who has established all the ends of the earth?(F)
What is His name,
and what is the name of His Son—
if you know?(G)
5 Every word of God is pure;[d](H)
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.(I)
6 Don’t add to His words,(J)
or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.(K)
7 Two things I ask of You;
don’t deny them to me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need.(L)
9 Otherwise, I might have too much(M)
and deny You,(N) saying, “Who is the Lord?”(O)
or I might have nothing and steal,(P)
profaning[e] the name of my God.(Q)
10 Don’t slander a servant to his master
or he will curse you,(R) and you will become guilty.
11 There is a generation that curses its father
and does not bless its mother.(S)
12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,(T)
yet is not washed from its filth.
13 There is a generation—how haughty its eyes
and pretentious its looks.[f]
14 There is a generation whose teeth are swords,(U)
whose fangs are knives,(V)
devouring the oppressed from the land(W)
and the needy from among mankind.
15 The leech has two daughters: “Give, Give!”
Three things(X) are never satisfied;
four never say, “Enough!”:
16 Sheol;(Y) a childless womb;(Z)
earth, which is never satisfied with water;
and fire, which never says, “Enough!”
17 As for the eye that ridicules a father(AA)
and despises obedience to a mother,
may ravens of the valley pluck it out
and young vultures eat it.(AB)
18 Three things are beyond me;
four I can’t understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship at sea,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20 This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”(AC)
21 The earth trembles under three things;
it cannot bear up under four:
22 a servant when he becomes king,(AD)
a fool when he is stuffed with food,
23 an unloved woman when she marries,(AE)
and a servant girl when she ousts her queen.
24 Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
25 the ants are not a strong people,
yet they store up their food in the summer;(AF)
26 hyraxes are not a mighty people,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;(AG)
27 locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in ranks;(AH)
28 a lizard[g] can be caught in your hands,
yet it lives in kings’ palaces.
29 Three things are stately in their stride,
even four are stately in their walk:
30 a lion, which is mightiest among beasts
and doesn’t retreat before anything,
31 a strutting rooster,[h] a goat,
and a king at the head of his army.[i]
32 If you have been foolish by exalting yourself
or if you’ve been scheming,
put your hand over your mouth.(AI)
33 For the churning of milk produces butter,
and twisting a nose draws blood,
and stirring up anger produces strife.(AJ)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:1 Or son of Jakeh from Massa; Pr 31:1
- Proverbs 30:1 Hb uncertain. Sometimes read with different word division as oration: I am weary, God, I am weary, God, and I am exhausted, or oration: I am not God, I am not God, that I should prevail. LXX reads My son, fear my words and when you have received them repent. The man says these things to the believers in God, and I pause.
- Proverbs 30:2 Lit I am more stupid than a man
- Proverbs 30:5 Lit refined
- Proverbs 30:9 Lit grabbing
- Proverbs 30:13 Lit and its eyelids lifted up
- Proverbs 30:28 Or spider
- Proverbs 30:31 Or a greyhound
- Proverbs 30:31 LXX reads king addressing his people
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