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
Mishle 30
Orthodox Jewish Bible
30 The devarim of Agur Ben Yakeh, even the massa; the gever (man) spoke unto Itiel, even unto Itiel and Uchal:
2 Surely I am more stupid than any ish, and have not the binat adam.
3 I neither learned chochmah, nor have the da’as of the kadoshim.
4 Who hath ascended into Shomayim, or descended? Who hath gathered ruach in the hollows of His hands? Who hath bound the mayim in a cloak? Who hath established all the afsei aretz (ends of the earth)? What is Shmo (His Name), and what is Shem Bno (the Name of His Son [See Memra, creative Word of G-d in Targumim]), if thou canst tell?
5 Every word of G-d is flawless; He is a mogen unto them that take refuge in Him.
6 Add thou not unto His devarim, lest He rebuke thee, and thou be found a kazav (liar).
7 Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before my mot;
8 Remove far from me shav (vanity, falsehood) and davar kazav (word of a liar); give me neither poverty nor osher; feed me lechem chukki (my daily bread);
9 Lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say, Who is Hashem? Or lest I be poor, and become a ganav, and profane the Shem of Elohai.
10 Do not slander an eved unto his adon, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
11 There is a dor (generation) that curseth its av, and doth not make a bracha on its em.
12 There is a dor (generation) that is tahor (pure) in its own eynayim, and yet is not washed from its filthiness.
13 There is a dor (generation), O how haughty in loftiness are their eynayim! And their eyelids are proudly lifted up.
14 There is a dor (generation), whose teeth are as charavot (swords), and their jaw teeth are as knives, to devour the aniyim (oppressed poor ones) from off ha’aretz, and the evyonim (needy ones) from among adam.
15 The leech hath two banot: Give! Give! There are shalosh (three) that are never satisfied, indeed, four things never say, Enough!
16 Sheol, and the barren womb; eretz that is never satisfied with mayim; and eish that saith not, Enough!
17 The ayin (eye) that mocketh at av, and scorneth to obey em, the ravens of the valley shall peck it out, and the bnei nesher shall eat it.
18 There are shalosh which are too wonderful for me, indeed, four which I understand not;
19 The derech hanesher (way of the eagle) in the sky; the derech nachash upon a tzur (rock); the derech oniyah (way of a sailing vessel) in the midst of the yam (sea); and the derech gever (way of a man) with an almah (unmarried young virgin; see Gn 24:43,16,63-65.
20 Such is the derech isha mena’efet (way of an adulterous woman): she eateth, and wipeth her peh (mouth), and saith, I have done no wrong.
21 For shalosh the eretz is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:
22 For an eved (slave) when he reigneth; and a naval (fool) when he is full with lechem;
23 For an unloved woman when she is married; and a shifchah that displaces her gevirah (lady, mistress).
24 There are four things which are little upon eretz, but they are exceeding chachamim:
25 The nemalim (ants) are an am (people) not strong, yet they store up their lechem in the kayitz (summer);
26 The badgers are but a feeble folk, yet they make their bais in the rocks;
27 The arbeh (locusts) have no melech, yet they go forth all of them in ranks;
28 The lizard can be held in the hands, yet is in heikhelot (palaces) of a melech.
29 There are shloshah which are majestic in stride, indeed, four are stately in walk:
30 A lion which is gibbor among behemah (beasts), and retreateth not from any;
31 The strutting rooster; the he-goat also; and a melech, when his army is with him.
32 If thou hast done foolishly in exalting thyself, or if thou hast devised rah, lay thine yad upon thy peh.
33 Surely the churning of cholov (milk) bringeth forth khemah (butter), and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth dahm; so the stirring up of anger bringeth forth strife.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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