The Words of Agur

30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.[a]

The man declares, I am weary, O God;
    I am weary, O God, and worn out.[b]
Surely I am too (A)stupid to be a man.
    I have not the understanding of a man.
I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I knowledge of (B)the Holy One.
Who has (C)ascended to heaven and come down?
    Who has (D)gathered the wind in his fists?
Who has (E)wrapped up the waters in a garment?
    Who has established all (F)the ends of the earth?
(G)What is his name, and what is his son's name?
    Surely you know!

(H)Every word of God proves true;
    he is (I)a shield to those who take refuge in him.
(J)Do not add to his words,
    lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

Two things I ask of you;
    deny them not to me (K)before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
    give me neither poverty nor riches;
    feed me with the food that is (L)needful for me,
lest I be (M)full and (N)deny you
    and say, (O)“Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
    (P)and profane the name of my God.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 30:1 Or Jakeh, the man of Massa
  2. Proverbs 30:1 Revocalization; Hebrew The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal

Sayings of Agur

30 The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh – an inspired utterance.

This man’s utterance to Ithiel:

‘I am weary, God,
    but I can prevail.[a]
Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
    I do not have human understanding.
I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.
Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
    Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is the name of his son?
    Surely you know!

‘Every word of God is flawless;
    he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Do not add to his words,
    or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

‘Two things I ask of you, Lord;
    do not refuse me before I die:
keep falsehood and lies far from me;
    give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
    and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonour the name of my God.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 30:1 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text utterance to Ithiel, / to Ithiel and Ukal:

30 The words of Agur the son of [a]Jakeh; the [b]oracle.

The man saith [c]unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
Surely I am more brutish than any man,
And have not the understanding of a man;
And I have not learned wisdom,
[d]Neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One.
Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended?
Who hath gathered the wind in his fists?
Who hath bound the waters in his garment?
Who hath established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou knowest?

Every word of God is [e]tried:
He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him.
Add thou not unto his words,
Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

Two things have I asked of thee;
Deny me them not before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lies;
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with [f]the food that is needful for me:
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is Jehovah?
Or lest I be poor, and steal,
And [g]use profanely the name of my God.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 30:1 Or, Jakeh, of Massa. See Gen. 25:14.
  2. Proverbs 30:1 Or, burden
  3. Proverbs 30:1 Or, as otherwise read, I have wearied myself, O God, I have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed: For I am etc.
  4. Proverbs 30:3 Or, That I should have the knowledge etc.
  5. Proverbs 30:5 Hebrew purified.
  6. Proverbs 30:8 Hebrew the bread of my portion.
  7. Proverbs 30:9 Hebrew handle the name.

The Words of Agur

30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.[a]

The man declares, I am weary, O God;
    I am weary, O God, and worn out.[b]
Surely I am too (A)stupid to be a man.
    I have not the understanding of a man.
I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I knowledge of (B)the Holy One.
Who has (C)ascended to heaven and come down?
    Who has (D)gathered the wind in his fists?
Who has (E)wrapped up the waters in a garment?
    Who has established all (F)the ends of the earth?
(G)What is his name, and what is his son's name?
    Surely you know!

(H)Every word of God proves true;
    he is (I)a shield to those who take refuge in him.
(J)Do not add to his words,
    lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

Two things I ask of you;
    deny them not to me (K)before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
    give me neither poverty nor riches;
    feed me with the food that is (L)needful for me,
lest I be (M)full and (N)deny you
    and say, (O)“Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
    (P)and profane the name of my God.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 30:1 Or Jakeh, the man of Massa
  2. Proverbs 30:1 Revocalization; Hebrew The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal

Sayings of Agur

30 The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh – an inspired utterance.

This man’s utterance to Ithiel:

‘I am weary, God,
    but I can prevail.[a]
Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
    I do not have human understanding.
I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.
Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
    Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is the name of his son?
    Surely you know!

‘Every word of God is flawless;
    he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Do not add to his words,
    or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

‘Two things I ask of you, Lord;
    do not refuse me before I die:
keep falsehood and lies far from me;
    give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
    and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonour the name of my God.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 30:1 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text utterance to Ithiel, / to Ithiel and Ukal:

30 The words of Agur the son of [a]Jakeh; the [b]oracle.

The man saith [c]unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
Surely I am more brutish than any man,
And have not the understanding of a man;
And I have not learned wisdom,
[d]Neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One.
Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended?
Who hath gathered the wind in his fists?
Who hath bound the waters in his garment?
Who hath established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou knowest?

Every word of God is [e]tried:
He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him.
Add thou not unto his words,
Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

Two things have I asked of thee;
Deny me them not before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lies;
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with [f]the food that is needful for me:
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is Jehovah?
Or lest I be poor, and steal,
And [g]use profanely the name of my God.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 30:1 Or, Jakeh, of Massa. See Gen. 25:14.
  2. Proverbs 30:1 Or, burden
  3. Proverbs 30:1 Or, as otherwise read, I have wearied myself, O God, I have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed: For I am etc.
  4. Proverbs 30:3 Or, That I should have the knowledge etc.
  5. Proverbs 30:5 Hebrew purified.
  6. Proverbs 30:8 Hebrew the bread of my portion.
  7. Proverbs 30:9 Hebrew handle the name.