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.”
More Proverbs
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
1The words of Gatherer the son of Vomiter. The vision which the man spoke with whom God is, and who being strengthened by God, abiding with him, said:
2I am the most foolish of men, and the wisdom of men is not with me.
3I have not learned wisdom, and have not known the science of saints.
4Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended? who hath held the wind in his hands? who hath bound up the waters together as in a garment? who hath raised up all the borders of the earth? what is his name, and what is the name of his son, if thou knowest?
5Every word of God is fire tried: he is a buckler to them that hope in him.
6Add not any thing to his words, lest thou be reproved, and found a liar:
7Two things I have asked of thee, deny them not to me before I die.
8Remove far from me vanity, and lying words. Give me neither beggary, nor riches: give me only the necessaries of life:
9Lest perhaps being filled, I should be tempted to deny, and say: Who is the Lord? or being compelled by poverty, I should steal, and forswear the name of my God.
10Accuse not a servant to his master, lest he curse thee, and thou fall.
11There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
12A generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness.
13A generation, whose eyes are lofty, and their eyelids lifted up on high.
14A generation, that for teeth hath swords, and grindeth with their jaw teeth, to devour the needy from off the earth, and the poor from among men.
15The horseleech hath two daughters that say: Bring, bring. There are three things that never are satisfied, and the fourth never saith: It is enough.
16Hell, and the mouth of the womb, and the earth which is not satisfied with water: and the fire never saith: It is enough.
17The eye that mocketh at his father, and that despiseth the labour of his mother in bearing him, let the ravens of the brooks pick it out, and the young eagles eat it.
18Three things are hard to me, and the fourth I am utterly ignorant of.
19The 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 in youth.
20Such is also the way of an adulterous woman, who eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith: I have done no evil.
21By three things the earth is disturbed, and the fourth it cannot bear:
22By a slave when he reigneth: by a fool when he is filled with meat:
23By an odious woman when she is married: and by a bondwoman when she is heir to her mistress.
24There are four very little things of the earth, and they are wiser than the wise:
25The ants, a feeble people, which provide themselves food in the harvest:
26The rabbit, a weak people, which maketh its bed in the rock:
27The locust hath no king, yet they all go out by their bands.
28The stellio supporteth itself on hands, and dwelleth in kings' houses.
29There are three things, which go well, and the fourth that walketh happily:
30A lion, the strongest of beasts, who hath no fear of any thing he meeteth:
31A cock girded about the loins: and a ram: and a king, whom none can resist.
32There is that hath appeared a fool after he was lifted up on high: for if he had understood, he would have laid his hand upon his mouth.
33And he that strongly squeezeth the papa to bring out milk, straineth out butter: and he that violently bloweth his nose, bringeth out blood: and he that provoketh wrath bringeth forth strife.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.