Proverbs 30
30
Wise Words from Agur
1These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh.
This is his message to Ithiel and Ucal:
2“I am the most stupid person there is.
I have no understanding.
3I have not learned to be wise.
And I don’t know much about God, the Holy One.
4Who has gone up to heaven and come back down?
Who can hold the wind in his hand?
Who can gather up the waters in his coat?
Who has decided where the ends of the earth will be?
What is his name? And what is his son’s name?
Surely, you know!
5“Every word of God can be trusted.
He protects those who come to him for safety.
6Do not add to his words.
If you do, he will correct you and prove that you are a liar.
7“I ask two things from you, Lord.
Don’t refuse me before I die.
8Keep me from lying and being dishonest.
And don’t make me either rich or poor.
Just give me enough food for each day.
9If I have too much, I might reject you.
I might say, ‘I don’t know the Lord.’
If I am poor, I might steal.
Then I would disgrace the name of my God.
10“Do not say bad things about a servant to his master.
If you do, he will curse you, and you will suffer for it.
11“Some people curse their fathers.
And they do not bless their mothers.
12Some people think they are pure.
But they are not really free from evil.
13Some people have such a proud look!
They look down on others.
14Some people have teeth like swords.
It is as if their jaws are full of knives.
They want to remove the poor people from the earth.
They want to get rid of the needy.
15“Greed has two daughters.
Their names are ‘Give me. Give me.’
There are three things that are never satisfied.
There are really four that never say, ‘I’ve had enough!’
16These things are the cemetery, the childless mother,
the land that never gets enough rain,
and fire that never says, ‘I’ve had enough!’
17“Don’t make fun of your father.
Don’t refuse to obey your mother.
If you do, your eye will be pecked out by the birds of the valley.
You will be eaten by hawks.
18“There are three things that are too hard for me.
There are really four that I don’t understand:
19the way an eagle flies in the sky,
the way a snake slides over a rock,
the way a ship sails on the sea
and the way a man acts with a girl.
20“This is the way a woman who takes part in adultery acts:
She sins and doesn’t care.
She says, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’
21“There are three things that make the earth tremble.
There are really four that it cannot stand:
22a servant who becomes a king,
a foolish person who has plenty to eat,
23a hateful woman who gets married
and a maid who replaces her mistress.
24“There are four things on earth that are small.
But they are very wise:
25Ants are not very strong.
But they store up food in the summer.
26Rock badgers are not powerful animals.
But they can live among the rocks.
27Locusts have no king.
But they all go out in formation.
28And lizards can be caught in the hand.
But they are found even in kings’ palaces.
29“There are three things that strut proudly.
There are really four that walk as if they are important:
30Lions are the proudest animals.
They are strong and run from nothing.
31Roosters and male goats strut proudly.
And so does a king when his army is around him.
32“You may have been foolish and proud.
If you planned evil, cover your mouth.
33Stirring milk makes butter.
Twisting noses makes them bleed.
And stirring up anger makes trouble.”
Currently Selected:
Proverbs 30: ICB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Proverbs 30
30
1 THE WORDS of Agur son of Jakeh of Massa: The man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ucal:
2 Surely I am too brutish and stupid to be called a man, and I have not the understanding of a man [for all my secular learning is as nothing].
3 I have not learned skillful and godly Wisdom, that I should have the knowledge or burden of the Holy One.
4 Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name, if you know? [John 3:13; Rev. 19:12.]
5 Every word of God is tried and purified; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him. [Ps. 18:30; 84:11; 115:9-11.]
6 Add not to His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.
7 Two things have I asked of You [O Lord]; deny them not to me before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 Lest I be full and deny You and say, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal, and so profane the name of my God. [Deut. 8:12, 14, 17; Neh. 9:25, 26; Job 31:24; Hos. 13:6.]
10 Do not accuse and hurt a servant before his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty [of adding to the burdens of the lowly].
11 There is a class of people who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
12 There is a class of people who are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their own filth.
13 There is a class of people–oh, how lofty are their eyes and their raised eyelids!
14 There is a class of people whose teeth are as swords and whose fangs as knives, to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among men.
15 The leech has two daughters, crying, Give, give! There are three things that are never satisfied, yes, four that do not say, It is enough:
16 Sheol (the place of the dead), the barren womb, the earth that is not satisfied with water, and the fire that says not, It is enough.
17 The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out, and the young vultures will devour it. [Lev. 20:9; Prov. 20:20; 23:22.]
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 upon a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid.
20 This is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, I have done no wickedness.
21 Under three things the earth is disquieted, and under four it cannot bear up:
22 Under a servant when he reigns, a [empty-headed] fool when he is filled with food,
23 An unloved and repugnant woman when she is married, and a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.
24 There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise:
25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they lay up their food in the summer; [Prov. 6:6.]
26 The conies are but a feeble folk, yet they make their houses in the rocks; [Ps. 104:18.]
27 The locusts have no king, yet they go forth all of them by bands;
28 The lizard you can seize with your hands, yet it is in kings' palaces.
29 There are three things which are stately in step, yes, four which are stately in their stride:
30 The lion, which is mightiest among beasts and turns not back before any;
31 The war horse [well-knit in the loins], the male goat also, and the king [when his army is with him and] against whom there is no uprising.
32 If you have done foolishly in exalting yourself, or if you have thought evil, lay your hand upon your mouth. [Job 21:5; 40:4.]
33 Surely the churning of milk brings forth butter, and the wringing of the nose brings forth blood; so the forcing of wrath brings forth strife.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation