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
箴言 30
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
亚古珥的箴言
30 以下是雅基的儿子亚古珥的箴言。
这人说：上帝啊，我很疲倦；
上帝啊，我很疲倦，精疲力尽。[a]
2 我比众人都愚蠢，
不具备人的悟性。
3 我从未学到智慧，
也不认识至圣者。
4 谁升上高天又降下来？
谁将风聚在掌中？
谁将众水裹在衣服里？
谁定了地的边界？
祂叫什么名字？
祂儿子叫什么名字？
你知道吗？
5 上帝的话句句千真万确，
祂作投靠祂之人的盾牌。
6 你不可对祂的话有所添加，
免得祂责备你，
揭穿你的虚谎。
7 上帝啊，我向你求两件事，
求你在我未死以前赐给我。
8 求你使虚伪和谎言远离我，
求你让我不贫穷也不富足，
赐给我需用的饮食，
9 免得我因为饱足就不认你，
说：“耶和华是谁呢？”
又恐怕我因穷困而偷窃，
以致辱没我上帝的名。
10 别向主人毁谤他的仆人，
免得你受咒诅、担当罪责。
11 有一种[b]人咒诅父亲，
不为母亲祝福。
12 有一种人自以为纯洁，
却没有洗掉自己的污秽。
13 有一种人趾高气扬，
目空一切。
14 有一种人牙如剑，
齿如刀，
要吞吃世间的困苦人和贫穷人。
15 水蛭有两个女儿，
她们不停地叫：“给我！给我！”
三样东西从不知足，
永不言“够”的共有四样：
16 阴间、不孕的妇人、
干旱的土地和火焰。
17 嘲笑父亲、藐视母亲教诲的，
眼睛必被谷中的乌鸦啄出，
被秃鹰吃掉。
18 我测不透的妙事有三样，
我不明白的事共有四样：
19 鹰在空中飞翔之道，
蛇在石上爬行之道，
船在海中航行之道，
男女相爱之道。
20 淫妇的道是这样：
她吃完就擦擦嘴，
说，“我没有做坏事。”
21 使大地震动的事有三样，
大地无法承受的事共有四样：
22 奴仆做王，
愚人吃饱，
23 丑恶女子出嫁，
婢女取代主母。
24 地上有四种动物，
身体虽小却极其聪明：
25 蚂蚁力量虽小，
却在夏天储备粮食；
26 石獾虽不强壮，
却在岩石中筑巢穴；
27 蝗虫虽无君王，
却整齐地列队前进；
28 壁虎虽易捕捉，
却居住在王宫大内。
29 步履威武的有三样，
走路雄壮的共有四样：
30 威震百兽、从不畏缩的狮子，
31 昂首阔步的雄鸡，
公山羊和率领军队的君王。
32 你若行事愚昧、
妄自尊大或图谋不轨，
就当用手掩口。
33 激起愤怒会引起争端，
正如搅牛奶会搅出奶油，
拧鼻子会拧出血。
Proverbs 30
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Sayings of Agur
30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh of Massa.[a]
The man says to Ith′i-el,
to Ith′i-el and Ucal:[b]
2 Surely I am too stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in his fists?
Who has wrapped up 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?
Surely you know!
5 Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take 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 of thee;
deny them not 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 is needful for me,
9 lest I be full, and deny thee,
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor, and steal,
and profane the name of my God.
10 Do not slander a servant to his master,
lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.
11 There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12 There are those who are pure in their own eyes
but are not cleansed of their filth.
13 There are those—how lofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!
14 There are those whose teeth are swords,
whose teeth are knives,
to devour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among men.
15 The leech[c] 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 which never says, “Enough.”[d]
17 The eye that mocks a father
and scorns to obey a mother
will be picked out by the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.
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 serpent on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a maiden.
20 This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats, and wipes her mouth,
and says, “I have done no wrong.”
21 Under three things the earth trembles;
under four it cannot bear up:
22 a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is filled with food;
23 an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
and a maid when she succeeds her mistress.
24 Four things on earth are small,
but they are exceedingly wise:
25 the ants are a people not strong,
yet they provide their food in the summer;
26 the badgers are a people not mighty,
yet they make their homes in the rocks;
27 the locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in rank;
28 the lizard you can take in your hands,
yet it is in kings’ palaces.
29 Three things are stately in their tread;
four are stately in their stride:
30 the lion, which is mightiest among beasts
and does not turn back before any;
31 the strutting cock,[e] the he-goat,
and a king striding before[f] his people.
32 If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,
or if you have been devising evil,
put your hand on your mouth.
33 For pressing milk produces curds,
pressing the nose produces blood,
and pressing anger produces strife.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:1 Or the oracle
- Proverbs 30:1 The Hebrew of this verse is obscure
- Proverbs 30:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Proverbs 30:16 Heb obscure
- Proverbs 30:31 Gk Syr Tg Compare Vg: Heb obscure
- Proverbs 30:31 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
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