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
King James Version
30 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
2 Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.
3 I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.
4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
7 Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:
8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
10 Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
11 There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
14 There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
15 The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
17 The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.
18 There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.
20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
21 For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:
22 For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;
23 For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
24 There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
26 The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
27 The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
28 The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.
29 There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:
30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
31 A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
32 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
33 Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
Ordspråksboken 30
nuBibeln (Swedish Contemporary Bible)
Tillägg
(30:1—31:31)
Agurs ordspråk
30 Ord av Agur, Jakes son, hans orakel.
Så talar den mannen:
”Jag är trött, Gud, jag är trött,
Gud, jag kan inte mer.[a]
2 Jag är oförnuftigare än någon annan människa,
jag saknar mänskligt förstånd.
3 Jag har inte fått lära mig vishet,
och jag vet knappast något om den Helige.
4 Vem har stigit upp till himlen
och kommit ner igen?
Vem har samlat vinden
i sina händer?
Vem har svept vattnen
i sin mantel?
Vem har fastställt
jordens gränser?
Vad heter han? Vad heter hans son?
Vet du det?
5 Allt vad Gud har talat är sant,
han är en sköld för dem som tar sin tillflykt till honom.
6 Lägg ingenting till hans ord,
för att han inte ska behöva anklaga dig för lögn.
7 Jag ber dig om två saker,
neka mig dem inte, innan jag dör:
8 Håll falskhet och lögn fjärran ifrån mig,
och ge mig varken fattigdom eller rikedom,
utan ge mig bara den mat jag behöver.
9 Om jag blir för mätt
kan jag förneka dig och säga: ’Vem är Herren?’
Och om jag blir alltför fattig kanske jag börjar stjäla
och på så sätt vanärar min Guds namn.
10 Förtala aldrig en tjänare inför hans herre,
för då förbannar han dig och du får stå för det.
11 Det finns sådana som förbannar sin far
och inte välsignar sin mor.
12 Det finns sådana som anser sig vara rena,
trots att de inte tvättat bort sin smuts.
13 Det finns sådana som har stolta ögon
och högmodiga blickar.
14 Det finns de som har tänder som svärd
och käftar som knivar,
och som vill äta de fattiga ur landet
och de hjälplösa ur mänskligheten.
15 Blodigeln har två döttrar, ’mer’ och ’mer’,
tre som aldrig får nog,
fyra, som aldrig säger: ’Det räcker’:
16 dödsriket, det ofruktsamma moderlivet,
marken som aldrig får nog av vatten,
och elden som aldrig säger: ’Det räcker.’
17 Den som ser hånfullt på sin far
och föraktar lydnaden mot sin mor
ska få ögonen uthackade av korpar
och uppätna av gamarna.
18 Det finns tre saker som är för underbara för mig,
fyra, som jag inte kan förstå:
19 örnens väg på himlen,
ormens väg på klippan,
fartygets väg mitt i havet,
och mannens väg till den unga kvinnan.
20 Så här beter sig en otrogen hustru:
Hon äter, torkar sig om munnen
och säger: ’Jag har inte gjort orätt.’
21 Det finns tre saker som får jorden att skaka,
fyra, som den inte kan stå ut med:
22 en slav som blir kung,
en dåre som stoppar i sig mat,
23 en föraktad kvinna som blir gift,
en tjänsteflicka som tar sin matmors plats.
24 Det finns fyra på jorden som är små
men visast bland de visa:
25 myrorna – de är inte starka,
men de samlar sin mat på sommaren,
26 klippgrävlingarna – de har inte mycket kraft,
men bland klipporna bygger de sitt bo,
27 gräshopporna – fastän de inte har någon kung,
drar de ut i svärmar,
28 ödlorna – de kan fångas med bara händer,
men ändå finns de i de kungliga palatsen.
29 Det finns tre som rör sig ståtligt,
fyra, som har en praktfull gång:
30 lejonet, den mäktige bland djuren,
som inte viker åt sidan för någon,
31 en kringspatserande tupp, en bock,
och en kung som leder sin armé.[b]
32 Om du burit dig dumt åt
och upphöjt dig själv,
eller planerat något ont,
så håll handen för munnen.
33 Så som man pressar fram smör av mjölk
och som man pressar fram näsblod,
så pressar man fram bråk ur vrede.”
Footnotes
- 30:1 Eller: Så talar den mannen till Itiel: jag är trött, Gud, men jag kan segra. Eller: talar han som Gud inte är med. Jag är trött, Gud, jag kan inte mer. Eller: den mannen till Itiel – till Itiel och Ukal. Eller: Jakes son, från Massa, som han förkunnar till Itiel – till Itiel och Ukal.
- 30:31 Grundtextens innebörd är osäker. Hjälp i översättningen har tagits från Septuaginta.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Swedish Contemporary Bible (nuBibeln) Copyright © 2015 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.