Proverbs 30
EasyEnglish Bible
The wise words of Agur
30 These are the words of Jakeh's son, Agur. It is an important message. The man says this to Ithiel:
God, I am weak and tired. I cannot continue to stand.
2 I feel more stupid than any other person. I do not understand things as other people do.
3 I have never learned wisdom. I do not know anything about God, the Holy One.
4 No one has gone up to heaven and then come back. No one has held the wind in his hands. No one has tied his coat around the seas. No one has fixed the borders of the earth. If anyone has done this, tell me his name. Tell me his son's name. Tell me, if you know.
5 Everything that God says is completely true. If you trust him, he will protect you like a soldier's shield.
6 Do not add anything to what God has said. If you do that, he will warn you. He will show that you are someone who tells lies.
7 God, I ask you to do two things for me. Please do them before I die:
8 Do not let me ever deceive people with lies.
Do not let me be too rich or too poor. Give me only as much food as I need each day.
9 If I have more than enough, I might say that I do not know you. I might say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
But if I am poor, I might rob people. That would insult my God's good name.
10 Do not say bad things about a servant to his master. If you do, the servant may curse you, and then you will be guilty.
11 There are some people who curse their fathers. They do not bless their mothers.
12 There are some people who think that they are perfect. But they are still dirty inside.
13 There are some people who are very proud. They look down on everyone else.
14 There are some people who are very cruel. Their teeth are like swords and sharp knives. They want to eat up all the poor and helpless people, so that they disappear from the earth.
15 A greedy leech has two daughters.[a] They are always saying, ‘Give me more!’
There are three things that never have enough for themselves, even four things:
16 The deep hole of death.
A wife who has no children.
Dry ground that needs rain.
A fire that burns strongly.
17 Punishment will come to anyone who insults his father, or who refuses to listen to his mother. Wild birds will pick out his eyes and vultures will eat his body.
18 There are three things that are too difficult for me to understand, even four things:
19 How an eagle flies high in the sky.
How a snake moves across a rock.
How a ship sails on the sea.
How a man starts to love a young woman.
20 A woman who is not faithful to her husband does this: When she has sex with another man, she thinks it is like a meal that she has eaten. Then she washes herself and she says, ‘I have not done anything wrong.’ That is something else that I cannot understand.
21 There are three things that make the earth shake, even four things:
22 A slave who becomes a king.
A fool who eats too much.
23 A woman that nobody loves who marries a husband.
A female servant who takes the place of the woman that she has served.
24 There are four things that live on the earth which are very small, but they are also very wise:
25 Ants are not very strong, but they prepare their food in the summer.
26 Rock badgers are weak animals, but they make their homes among the rocks.
27 Locusts have no king to lead them, but they all fly together as one.
28 Lizards are easy to catch with your hand, but you will see them in kings' palaces.
29 There are three things that seem great as they walk around, even four things:
30 Lions are the strongest of all animals, and they are not afraid of anything.
31 Cockerels that shout proudly.
Male goats.
A king who has his army with him.
32 You may be foolish and too proud of yourself. You may have ideas to do evil things. If that is true, stop yourself! Do not say a word! 33 If you beat milk for a long time, it will become butter. If you hit someone's nose, it will bleed. In the same way, if you make people angry, it will cause trouble.
Footnotes
- 30:15 A leech is a little animal that drinks blood.
Proverbs 30
New Life Version
The Wisdom of Agur
30 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh of Massa. The man says to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 For sure, I am more foolish than any man, and I do not have the understanding of a man. 3 I have not learned wisdom, and I do not know much about the Holy One. 4 Who has gone up into heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has gathered the waters in His coat? Who has put in place all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name? For sure you know!
5 Every word of God has been proven true. He is a safe-covering to those who trust in Him. 6 Do not add to His words, or He will speak strong words to you and prove you to be a liar.
7 Two things I have asked of You. Do not keep me from having them before I die: 8 Take lies and what is false far from me. Do not let me be poor or rich. Feed me with the food that I need. 9 Then I will not be afraid that I will be full and turn my back against You and say, “Who is the Lord?” And I will not be afraid that I will be poor and steal, and bring shame on the name of my God.
10 Do not speak against a slave while talking with his owner, or he may curse you and you will be found guilty.
11 There are those who curse their fathers, and do not honor their mothers. 12 There are people who are pure in their own eyes, but are not washed from their own dirt. 13 There is a kind, O, how proud are his eyes! His eyes are opened wide with pride. 14 There is a kind of man whose teeth are swords, whose jaws are like knives, who eat up those who are suffering from the earth, and those in need from among men.
15 The one who lives by the blood of another has two daughters, “Give,” “Give.” There are three things that are never filled, four that never say, “Enough”: 16 The place of the dead, the woman who cannot have children, the earth that is always thirsty for water, and fire that never says, “Enough.”
17 The eye that makes fun of a father and hates to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the young eagles.
18 There are three things which are too great for me, four which 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 out at sea, and the way of a man with a woman.
20 This is the way of a woman who is not faithful in marriage: She eats and washes her mouth, and says, “I have done no wrong.”
21 Under three things the earth shakes, and under four it cannot stand: 22 Under a servant when he becomes king, under a fool when he is filled with food, 23 under a woman who is not loved when she gets a husband, and under a woman servant when she takes the place of the woman of the house.
24 There are four things that are small on the earth, but they are very wise: 25 The ants are not a strong people, but they store up their food in the summer. 26 The badgers are not a strong people, but they make their houses in the rocks. 27 The locusts have no king, but they go as an army. 28 You can take the lizard in your hands, but it is found in kings’ houses.
29 There are three things which have honor in their steps, even four which show honor in their walk: 30 The lion, which is powerful among wild animals and does not turn away from any, 31 the proud rooster, the male goat, and a king when his army is with him.
32 If you have been foolish in honoring yourself, or if you have planned wrong-doing, put your hand on your mouth. 33 Shaking milk makes butter, and hitting the nose brings blood. So fighting comes because of anger.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.