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
1 The words of the Gatherer, the son of the Vomiter. The vision that the man spoke. God is with him, and he, being strengthened by God and abiding with him, said:
2 "I am the most foolish among men, and the wisdom of men is not with me.
3 I have not learned wisdom, and I have not known the knowledge of sanctity.
4 Who has ascended to heaven and also descended? Who has grasped the wind in his hands? Who has tied the waters together, as with a garment? Who has raised all the limits of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son, if you know?
5 Every word of God is fire-tested. He is a bronze shield to those who hope in him.
6 Do not add anything to his words, lest you be reproved and be discovered to be a liar.
7 Two things I have asked of you; do not deny them to me before I die.
8 Remove, far from me, vanity and lying words. Give me neither begging, nor wealth. Apportion to me only the necessities of my life,
9 lest perhaps, being filled, I might be enticed into denial, and say: 'Who is the Lord?' Or, being compelled by destitution, I might steal, and then perjure myself in the name of my God.
10 Do not accuse a servant to his lord, lest he curse you, and you fall.
11 There is a generation which curses their father, and which does not bless their mother.
12 There is a generation which seems pure to themselves, and yet they are not even washed from their filthiness.
13 There is a generation, whose eyes have been elevated, and their eyelids are lifted on high.
14 There is a generation which has swords in place of teeth, and which commands their molars to devour the indigent from the earth and the poor from among men.
15 The leech has two daughters, who say, 'Bring, bring.' Three things are insatiable, and a fourth never says 'Enough':
16 Hell, and the mouth of the womb, and a land that is not filled with water. And truly, fire never says, 'Enough.'
17 The eye of one who mocks his father and who despises the childbearing of his mother, let the ravens of the torrent tear it out, and let the sons of the eagles consume it.
18 Three things are difficult for me, and about a fourth, I am nearly ignorant:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the middle of the sea, and the way of a man in adolescence.
20 Such is the way also of an adulterous woman, who eats, and wiping her mouth, says: "I have done no evil."
21 By three things, the earth is moved, and a fourth it is not able to sustain:
22 by a slave when he reigns, by the foolish when he has been filled with food,
23 by a hateful woman when she has been taken in matrimony, and by a handmaid when she has been heir to her mistress.
24 Four things are least upon the earth, and they are wiser than the wise:
25 the ants, an infirm people who provide food for themselves at the harvest,
26 the rabbit, a sickened people who make their bed upon the rock.
27 The locust has no king, but they all depart by their troops.
28 The lizard supports itself on hands and dwells in the buildings of kings.
29 There are three things that advance well, and a fourth that marches happily on:
30 a lion, the strongest of beasts, who fears nothing that he meets,
31 a rooster prepared at the loins, likewise a ram, and a king, whom none can resist.
32 There is one who has appeared foolish, after he was lifted up on high; for if he had understood, he would have placed his hand over his mouth.
33 But whoever strongly squeezes the udder to bring out the milk, presses out butter. And whoever violently blows his nose, brings out blood. And whoever provokes wrath, brings forth discord."
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