Proverbs 30
New American Standard Bible
The Words of Agur
30 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the pronouncement.
The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 I am certainly more (A)stupid than any man,
And I do not have the understanding of a man;
3 Nor have I learned wisdom,
Nor do I have the (B)knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has (C)ascended into heaven and descended?
Who has gathered the (D)wind in His fists?
Who has (E)wrapped the waters in [a]His garment?
Who has (F)established all the ends of the earth?
What is His (G)name or His [b]Son’s name?
Surely you know!
5 Every (H)word of God is [c]pure;
He is a (I)shield to those who take refuge in Him.
6 (J)Do not add to His words
Or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.
7 Two things I have asked of You;
Do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep deception and [d]lies far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the (K)food that is my portion,
9 So that I will not be (L)full and deny (M)You and say, “Who is the Lord?”
And that I will not become (N)impoverished and steal,
And (O)profane the name of my God.
10 Do not slander a slave to his master,
Or he will (P)curse you and you will be found guilty.
11 There is a [e]kind of person who (Q)curses his father
And does not bless his mother.
12 There is a [f]kind who is (R)pure in his own eyes,
Yet is not washed from his filthiness.
13 There is a [g]kind—oh how (S)lofty are his eyes!
And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.
14 There is a [h]kind of person whose (T)teeth are like swords
And his (U)jaw teeth like knives,
To (V)devour the poor from the earth
And the needy from among mankind.
15 The leech has two daughters:
“Give” and “Give.”
There are three things that will not be satisfied,
Four that will not say, “Enough”:
16 [i](W)Sheol, the (X)infertile womb,
Earth that is never satisfied with water,
And fire that never says, “Enough.”
17 The eye that (Y)mocks a father
And [j](Z)scorns a mother,
The (AA)ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young (AB)eagles will eat it.
18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Four which I do not understand:
19 The way of the (AC)eagle in the sky,
The way of a snake on a rock,
The way of a ship in the middle of the sea,
And the way of a man with a [k]virgin.
20 This is the way of an (AD)adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wrong.”
21 Under three things the earth quakes,
And under four, it cannot endure:
22 Under a (AE)slave when he becomes king,
And a fool when he is satisfied with food,
23 Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
And a female servant when she dispossesses her mistress.
24 Four things are small on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
25 The (AF)ants are not a strong people,
But they prepare their food in the summer;
26 The (AG)rock hyraxes are not a mighty people,
Yet they make their houses in the rocks;
27 The locusts have no king,
Yet all of them go out in (AH)ranks;
28 The lizard you may grasp with the hands,
Yet it is in kings’ palaces.
29 There are three things which are stately in their march,
Even four which are stately when they walk:
30 The lion, which is (AI)mighty among animals
And does not [l](AJ)retreat from anything,
31 The [m]strutting rooster or the male goat,
And a king when his army is with him.
32 If you have been foolish in exalting yourself,
Or if you have plotted evil, (AK)put your hand on your mouth.
33 For the [n]churning of milk produces butter,
And pressing the nose produces blood;
So the [o]churning of (AL)anger produces strife.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:4 Lit the
- Proverbs 30:4 Or son’s
- Proverbs 30:5 Lit refined
- Proverbs 30:8 Lit words of falsehood
- Proverbs 30:11 Or generation
- Proverbs 30:12 Or generation
- Proverbs 30:13 Or generation
- Proverbs 30:14 Or generation
- Proverbs 30:16 I.e., The netherworld
- Proverbs 30:17 Lit despises to obey
- Proverbs 30:19 Lit young unmarried woman
- Proverbs 30:30 Lit turn back
- Proverbs 30:31 Lit girt in the loins
- Proverbs 30:33 Lit pressing
- Proverbs 30:33 Lit pressing
Proverbs 30
The Voice
30 These are the words of Agur, son of Jakeh. An oracle of wisdom.
He says, “I am weary, God.
I am weary and spent, O God.”[a]
2 Certainly I am a stupid man, as dumb as an ox.
I don’t understand the way that most people do.
3 I have never learned wisdom,
and I have no knowledge at all of the Holy One.
4 Who has ascended into the heavens and then come back down?
Who has collected the winds in the palm of His hand?
Who has wrapped up the vast oceans in His coat?
Who has plotted the ends of the earth and then fashioned them?
What is His name?
What is His son’s name?
Do you know? Indeed, you do.
The answer to all these questions, of course, is “no one but God.” Agur, like Job, understands the limits of human strength and knowledge. Unlike many, he freely confesses his need and takes refuge in the one True God.
5 Every word of God will be put to the test and proven true;
He is a defense for those who trust in Him.
6 Take care. Add nothing to what He has said;
for if you do, He will correct you and expose you as a liar.
7 Two things I ask, O God.
Sometime before I die, grant these humble requests:
8 Eliminate any hint of worthless and deceitful words from my lips.
Do not make me poor or rich,
but give me each day what I need;
9 For if I have too much, I might forget You are the One who provides,
saying, “Who is the Eternal One?”
Or if I do not have enough, I might become hungry and turn to stealing
and thus dishonor the good name of my God.
Wealth and poverty have something in common. Both situations can lead us to forget God. If we are rich, then it is easy to think it was our skill, our strength, and our hard work that got us there. We forget it was God who gave us the time and talent to succeed. If we are poor, then it is easy to steal and then make excuses for what we did. We forget that God said, “You are not to take what is not yours” (Exodus 20:15). When God’s people violate His teaching, God is the one who gets a black eye.
10 Never run down a servant to his master
because the slave might curse you and you would suffer as a result.
11 There is a kind of person who curses his father
and pronounces no blessing upon his mother;
12 A kind of person who is without fault in his own estimation
but has not been scrubbed clean of his own sordidness;
13 A kind whose look is too haughty,
whose eyebrows arch as he looks down on others;
14 A kind whose very teeth cut like swords
and whose jaws sever like knives,
All the better to consume the poor of the earth
and the oppressed among men.
15 The leech has twin suckers;
“More blood! More blood,” they demand.
Three other things are just as insatiable,
no, make it four that never say, “Enough”:
16 The grave, the childless woman who cannot bear,
the parched earth that cries for rain,
and the fire, which never says, “Enough!”
17 One who derides his father
and fails to honor his mother in old age
Will die in contempt: his eyes will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the young vultures when his unburied body lies on the trash heap.
18 There are three mysteries I find absolutely amazing,
no, make it four I cannot comprehend:
19 The way an eagle flies through the sky,
the way a snake moves over a rock,
The way a boat glides through the middle of the sea,
and the way a man becomes one with his virgin wife.
20 An adulterous woman is so cavalier by nature.
When she’s done, it is as if she washed after eating
and then says, “I have done nothing wrong.”
21 Three situations disturb the earth,
no, make it four that it cannot endure:
22 When a slave is elevated to king,
when a fool is full of fine food,
23 When a hated woman finally marries,
and when a serving girl takes possession of her mistress’s wealth.
24 There are four creatures on earth that are small,
but they are very wise and we can learn from them:
25 While ants are hardly a strong species,
they work constantly to store up food during the summer;
26 While badgers are animals without many defenses,
they are wise enough to make their homes in the rocky cliffs;
27 While locusts live without a ruler,
they all know how to move in formation;
28 While a lizard is easy enough to catch in your hand,
it is shrewd enough to enter the palaces of kings.
29 There are three creatures with majesty in their stride,
no, make it four that move with grace:
30 The lion, which is the strongest of the animals,
does not back down from any other creature;
31 The strutting rooster, the male goat,
and a king as he goes out with his army.[b]
32 If you have been foolish enough to insinuate yourself in some high position
or if you have concocted some sort of evil plan,
clamp your hand tightly over your mouth;
33 For pressing down milk makes butter,
pressing your nose makes it bleed,
and pressing anger makes trouble.
Proverbs 30
New Living Translation
The Sayings of Agur
30 The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh contain this message.[a]
I am weary, O God;
I am weary and worn out, O God.[b]
2 I am too stupid to be human,
and I lack common sense.
3 I have not mastered human wisdom,
nor do I know the Holy One.
4 Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down?
Who holds the wind in his fists?
Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak?
Who has created the whole wide world?
What is his name—and his son’s name?
Tell me if you know!
5 Every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
6 Do not add to his words,
or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.
7 O God, I beg two favors from you;
let me have them before I die.
8 First, help me never to tell a lie.
Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!
Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
9 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.
10 Never slander a worker to the employer,
or the person will curse you, and you will pay for it.
11 Some people curse their father
and do not thank their mother.
12 They are pure in their own eyes,
but they are filthy and unwashed.
13 They look proudly around,
casting disdainful glances.
14 They have teeth like swords
and fangs like knives.
They devour the poor from the earth
and the needy from among humanity.
15 The leech has two suckers
that cry out, “More, more!”[c]
There are three things that are never satisfied—
no, four that never say, “Enough!”:
16 the grave,[d]
the barren womb,
the thirsty desert,
the blazing fire.
17 The eye that mocks a father
and despises a mother’s instructions
will be plucked out by ravens of the valley
and eaten by vultures.
18 There are three things that amaze me—
no, four things that I don’t understand:
19 how an eagle glides through the sky,
how a snake slithers on a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
how a man loves a woman.
20 An adulterous woman consumes a man,
then wipes her mouth and says, “What’s wrong with that?”
21 There are three things that make the earth tremble—
no, four it cannot endure:
22 a slave who becomes a king,
an overbearing fool who prospers,
23 a bitter woman who finally gets a husband,
a servant girl who supplants her mistress.
24 There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise:
25 Ants—they aren’t strong,
but they store up food all summer.
26 Hyraxes[e]—they aren’t powerful,
but they make their homes among the rocks.
27 Locusts—they have no king,
but they march in formation.
28 Lizards—they are easy to catch,
but they are found even in kings’ palaces.
29 There are three things that walk with stately stride—
no, four that strut about:
30 the lion, king of animals, who won’t turn aside for anything,
31 the strutting rooster,
the male goat,
a king as he leads his army.
32 If you have been a fool by being proud or plotting evil,
cover your mouth in shame.
33 As the beating of cream yields butter
and striking the nose causes bleeding,
so stirring up anger causes quarrels.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
