Proverbs 30
30
The Words of Agur
1These are the solemn words of Agur son of Jakeh:
“God is not with me, God is not with me,
and I am helpless.#30.1 Probable text “God… helpless; Hebrew unclear.
2I am more like an animal than a human being;
I do not have the sense a human being should have.
3I have never learned any wisdom,
and I know nothing at all about God.
4Who has ever mastered heavenly knowledge?
Who has ever caught the wind in his hand?
Or wrapped up water in a piece of cloth?
Or fixed the boundaries of the earth?
Who is he, if you know? Who is his son?
5“God keeps every promise he makes. He is like a shield for all who seek his protection. 6If you claim that he said something that he never said, he will reprimand you and show that you are a liar.”
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7I ask you, God, to let me have two things before I die: 8keep me from lying, and let me be neither rich nor poor. So give me only as much food as I need. 9If I have more, I might say that I do not need you. But if I am poor, I might steal and bring disgrace on my God.
10Never criticize servants to their master. You will be cursed and suffer for it.
11There are people who curse their fathers and do not show their appreciation for their mothers.
12There are people who think they are pure when they are as filthy as they can be.
13There are people who think they are so good — oh, how good they think they are!
14There are people who take cruel advantage of the poor and needy; that is the way they make their living.
15A leech has two daughters, and both are named “Give me!”
There are four things that are never satisfied:
16the world of the dead,
a woman without children,
dry ground that needs rain,
and a fire burning out of control.
17Those who make fun of their father or despise their mother in her old age#30.17 One ancient translation mother in her old age; Hebrew mother's obedience. ought to be eaten by vultures or have their eyes picked out by wild ravens.
18There are four things that are too mysterious for me to understand:
19an eagle flying in the sky,
a snake moving on a rock,
a ship finding its way over the sea,
and a man and a woman falling in love.
20This is how an unfaithful wife acts: she commits adultery, has a bath, and says, “But I haven't done anything wrong!”
21There are four things that the earth itself cannot tolerate:
22a slave who becomes a king,
a fool who has all he wants to eat,
23a hateful woman who gets married,
and a servant woman who takes the place of her mistress.
24There are four animals in the world that are small, but very, very clever:
25Ants: they are weak, but they store up their food in the summer.
26Rock-badgers: they are not strong either, but they make their homes among the rocks.
27Locusts: they have no king, but they move in formation.
28Lizards: you can hold one in your hand, but you can find them in palaces.
29There are four things that are impressive to watch as they walk:
30lions, strongest of all animals and afraid of none;
31goats,
strutting cocks,
and kings in front of their people.#30.31 Verse 31 in Hebrew is unclear.
32If you have been foolish enough to be arrogant and plan evil, stop and think! 33If you churn milk, you get butter. If you hit someone's nose, it bleeds. If you stir up anger, you get into trouble.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Proverbs 30
30
The Sayings of Agur
1The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle.
The man declares to Ithiel,
to Ithiel and Ukal:
2#Ps 73:22 Surely I am more brutish than any man,
and have not the understanding of a man.
3#Pr 9:10 I neither learned wisdom,
nor have the knowledge of the holy.
4#Jn 3:13; Job 26:8; Ps 2:7 Who has ascended up into heaven, or descended?
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 the name of His son,
if you know?
5#Ps 12:6; 18:30 Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6#Dt 4:2; 12:32 Do not add to His words,
lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.
7Two things I have required of you;
do not deny me them before I die:
8#Mt 6:11; Lk 11:3 Remove vanity and lies far from me—
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with food convenient for me;
9#Ex 20:7; Dt 31:20 lest I be full, and deny You,
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor, and steal,
and take the name of my God in vain.
10Do not accuse a servant to his master,
lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.
11#Pr 20:20; 30:17 There is a generation that curses their father,
and does not bless its mother.
12#Lk 18:11; Pr 16:2 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,
and yet is not washed from its filthiness.
13#Pr 6:17; Ps 101:5 There is a generation—oh, how lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids are lifted up.
14#Job 29:17; Ps 14:4 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#Pr 6:16; 30:21 The leech has two daughters,
crying, “Give, give.”
There are three things that are never satisfied,
indeed, four things never say, “It is enough”:
16#Pr 27:20; Hab 2:5 the grave, the barren womb,
the earth that is not filled with water,
and the fire that never says, “It is enough.”
17#Pr 23:22; Dt 21:18–21 The eye that mocks at his father,
and despises to obey his mother,
the ravens of the valley will pick it out,
and the young eagles will eat it.
18#Job 42:3 There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
indeed, four which I do not know:
19the way of an eagle in the air,
the way of a serpent on a rock,
the way of a ship in the midst of the sea,
and the way of a man with a maid.
20Such is the way of an adulterous woman;
she eats and wipes her mouth,
and says, “I have done no wickedness.”
21For three things the earth is disquieted,
and for four which it cannot bear:
22#Pr 19:10; Ecc 10:7 for a servant when he reigns,
and a fool when he is filled with food,
23for a hateful woman when she is married,
and a handmaid who is heir to her mistress.
24There are four things which are little upon the earth,
but they are exceeding wise:
25#Pr 6:6–8 The ants are a people not strong,
yet they prepare their food in the summer;
26#Ps 104:18; Lev 11:5 the badgers are but a feeble folk,
yet they make their houses in the rocks;
27#Joel 2:25 the locusts have no king,
yet they go forth all of them by bands;
28the spider takes hold with her hands,
and is in kings’ palaces.
29There are three things which go well,
indeed, four are comely in going:
30#Jdg 14:18 a lion which is strongest among beasts,
and does not turn away for any;
31a strutting rooster, a male goat also,
and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
32#Job 21:5; 40:4 If you have been foolish in lifting up yourself,
or if you have thought evil,
put your hand on your mouth.
33#Pr 29:22 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.
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