Proverbs 30
30
The Sayings of Agur
1These are the sayings
and the message
of Agur son of Jakeh.
Someone cries out to God,
“I am completely worn out!
How can I last?#30.1 last: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 1.
2I am far too stupid
to be considered human.
3I never was wise,
and I don't understand
what God is like.”
4 #
3 Macc 2.15. Has anyone gone up to heaven
and come back down?
Has anyone grabbed hold
of the wind?
Has anyone wrapped up the sea
or marked out boundaries
for the earth?
If you know of any
who have done such things,
then tell me their names
and their children's names.
5Everything God says is true—
and it's a shield for all
who come to him for safety.
6Don't change what God has said!
He will correct you and show
that you are a liar.
7There are two things, Lord,
I want you to do for me
before I die:
8Make me absolutely honest
and don't let me be too poor
or too rich.
Give me just what I need.
9If I have too much to eat,
I might forget about you;
if I don't have enough,
I might steal
and disgrace your name.
10Don't tell a slave owner
something bad about one
of the slaves.
That slave will curse you,
and you will be in trouble.
11Some people curse their father
and even their mother;
12others think they are perfect,
but they are stained by sin.
13Some people are stuck-up
and act like snobs;
14others are so greedy
that they gobble up
the poor and homeless.
15Greed#30.15 Greed: Or “A leech.” has twins,
each named “Give me!”
There are three or four things
that are never satisfied:
16The world of the dead
and a childless wife,
the thirsty earth
and a flaming fire.
17Don't make fun of your father
or disobey your mother—
crows will peck out your eyes,
and buzzards will eat
the rest of you.
18There are three or four things
I cannot understand:
19 #
Ws 5.10-12. How eagles fly so high
or snakes crawl on rocks,
how ships sail the ocean
or people fall in love.
20An unfaithful wife says,
“Sleeping with another man
is as natural as eating.”
21There are three or four things
that make the earth tremble
and are unbearable:
22A slave who becomes king,
a fool who eats too much,
23a hateful woman
who finds a husband,
and a slave who takes the place
of the woman who owns her.
24On this earth four things
are small but very wise:
25Ants, who seem to be feeble,
but store up food
all summer long;
26badgers, who seem to be weak,
but live among the rocks;
27locusts, who have no king,
but march like an army;
28lizards,#30.28 lizards: Or “spiders.” which can be caught
in your hand,
but sneak into palaces.
29Three or four creatures
really strut around:
30Those fearless lions
who rule the jungle,
31those proud roosters,
those mountain goats,
and those rulers
who have no enemies.#30.31 enemies: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 31.
32If you are foolishly bragging
or planning something evil,
then stop it now!
33If you churn milk
you get butter;
if you pound on your nose,
you get blood—
and if you stay angry,
you get in trouble.
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Proverbs 30: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 30
30
The Oracle of Agur
1The words of Agur, son of Yakeh, the oracle.
Thus says the man to Ithiel, to Ithiel, and Ucal:#Or “I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out”
2Certainly I am more stupid than a man,
and the understanding of humankind is not for me.
3And I have not learned wisdom,
nor will I know knowledge of the Holy One.#Or “holy ones”
4Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of his hand?
Who has wrapped water in a#Hebrew “the” garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name and what is the name of his child?
For surely you know.
5Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield for him who takes refuge in him.
6Do not add to his words
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
7Two things I ask from you;
do not deny me before I die:
8Keep falsehood and a lying word#Literally “word of a lie” far from me;
do not give me poverty or wealth;
provide me with food only for my need.
9Or else I will be satisfied and will deny him
and say “Who is Yahweh?”
Or#Or “Lest” I will be poor and will steal
and profane the name of my God.
10Do not slander a servant to his master,
or else he will curse you and you will be guilty.
11There is a generation that will curse its father,
and its mother it will not bless.
12There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,
but from its filthiness it will not be cleansed.
13There is a generation—how lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids they will lift.
14There is a generation whose teeth are swords,
and its jawbones, knives,
in order to devour the poor from the earth#Or “land”
and the needy from humankind.
15For the leech, there are two daughters;
“Give, give!” they cry.
As for three of these, they are not satisfied;
as for four, they do not say enough.
16Sheol#A term for the place where the dead reside, i.e., the Underworld and barrenness of womb,
the land is not satisfied with water,
and fire does not say “enough!”
17The eye that mocks a father
and scorns the obedience of a mother—
the ravens of the valley will peck it out,
and the offspring of vultures will eat it.
18Three of these are too wonderful for me,
and four, I do not understand them:
19the way of the eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship in the heart of the sea,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20This is the way of a woman committing adultery:
she eats and wipes her mouth,
and says “I have not done wrong.”
21Under three things the earth#Or “land” trembles,
and under four, it is not able to bear up:
22under a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is satisfied with food;
23under an unloved woman when she gets married,
and a maid when she succeeds her mistress.
24There are four small things on the earth,
and they are exceedingly wise:#Literally “wise ones from wise ones”
25The ants are a people who are not strong,
yet they prepare their food in the summer;
26the badgers are a people who are not mighty,
yet they set their house on the rock;
27there is no king for the locust,
yet it marches in rank;
28a lizard you can seize with hands,
yet it is in palaces of kings.
29There are three things that are magnificent of stride,
and four that are magnificent when moving:
30a mighty lion among the beasts,#Hebrew “beasts”
but he will not turn back from any face;#Literally “faces of all”
31a strutting rooster or he-goat,
and a king whose army is with him.
32If you have been foolish by exalting yourself,
and if you have devised evil, put your hand to your mouth.
33For pressing milk produces curd,
and pressing the nose produces blood,
so pressing anger#Literally “nostrils” produces strife.
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