Proverbs 30
30
Words of Agur
1The words of Agur, Jakeh’s son, from Massa.
The man declares: I’m tired, God;
I’m tired, God, and I’m exhausted.
2Actually, I’m too stupid to be human,
a man without understanding.
3I haven’t learned wisdom,
nor do I have knowledge of the holy one.
4Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind by the handful?
Who has bound up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is this person’s name and the name of this person’s child—
if you know it?
5All God’s words are tried and true;
a shield for those who take refuge in him.
6Don’t add to his words,
or he will correct you and show you to be a liar.
7Two things I ask of you;
don’t keep them from me before I die:
8Fraud and lies—
keep far from me!
Don’t give me either poverty or wealth;
give me just the food I need.
9Or I’ll be full and deny you,
and say, “Who is the LORD?”
Or I’ll be poor and steal,
and dishonor my God’s name.
More sayings of the wise
10Don’t slander a servant to his master;
otherwise, the servant will curse you, and you will be guilty.
11There are those who curse their father
and don’t bless their mother.
12There are those who think they are clean,
but haven’t washed off their own excrement.
13There are those—
how arrogant are their eyes;
how their eyebrows are raised!
14There are those whose teeth are swords;
their jaw is a butcher’s knife,
ready to devour the needy from the earth,
and the poor from humanity.
15The leech has two daughters: “Give, give!”
There are three things that are never satisfied,
four that never say, “Enough!”:
16the grave#30.16 Heb Sheol and a barren womb,
a land never filled with water,
and fire that doesn’t say, “Enough!”
17An eye that mocks a father
and rejects obedience to a mother,
may the ravens of the river valley peck it out,
and the eagle’s young eat it.
18Three things are too wonderful for me,
four that I can’t figure out:
19the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on the rock,
the way of a ship out on the open sea,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20This is the way of an adulterous woman:
she eats and wipes her mouth,
and she says, “I’ve done nothing wrong!”
21At three things the earth trembles,
at four it can’t bear up:
22at a servant when he becomes king
and fools when they are full of food;
23at a detested woman when she gets married
and a female servant when she replaces her mistress.
24Four things are among the smallest on earth,
but they are extremely wise:
25Ants as creatures aren’t strong,
but they store away their food in the summer.
26Badgers as creatures aren’t powerful,
but they make their homes in the rocks.
27Locusts don’t have a king,
but they march together in ranks.
28You can catch lizards in your hand,
but they are in kings’ palaces.
29There are three things that are excellent in their stride,
four that are excellent as they walk:
30a lion, a warrior among beasts,
which doesn’t back down at anything;
31the strut of a rooster or a male goat;
and a king with his army.
32If you’ve been foolish and arrogant,
if you’ve been scheming,
put your hand to your mouth,
33because churning milk makes curds,
squeezing the nose brings blood,
and stirring up anger produces strife.
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Proverbs 30: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 30
30
1These are the words of Agur, son of Jakeh. An oracle. This is what the man says, God, I'm really tired, I'm worn out.#30:1. This verse is variously translated, mainly depending on whether it refers to named people or what the words actually mean. Since both the Septuagint and the Vulgate do not assume the words to be names, this approach is followed here.
2I'm so stupid I'm not really a man; I can't even think like a human being.
3I have not learned wisdom; I have no knowledge of the Holy One.
4Who has gone up to heaven, and come down? Who holds the winds in the palm of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has set the earth's boundaries? What is his name, and what is his son's name? Are you sure you don't know?#30:4. The point of the questions is to show that no one but the Creator could do all these things.
5Every word God says has been proved true. He defends everyone who comes to him for protection.
6Don't add anything to his words, or he will criticize you and you'll be shown to be a liar.
7God, I want to request two things from you. Please don't refuse to let me have them before I come to die.
8Keep me from being false, help me not to tell lies. Don't make me poor or rich; just provide me with the food I need.
9Otherwise if I have plenty of money,#30:9. “I have plenty of money”: literally, “I'm full.” I may give up on you, saying, “Who is the Lord?” while if I'm poor I may steal and bring the name of my God into disrepute.
10Don't slander a servant to his master, or he will curse you and you'll suffer for it.
11There are some who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
12There are some who see themselves as pure but they're still filthy—they have not been washed.
13There are some who think themselves so high and mighty, and who look down on others.
14There are some who have teeth like swords, incisors like knives, ready to devour the poor from the earth, the needy from society.
15The leech has two daughters who cry out, “Give me! Give me!”
There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, “Enough!”:
16The grave, the womb that doesn't become pregnant, the earth thirsty for water, and the fire that never says, “Enough!”
17People who ridicule their fathers and despise obedience to the mother will have their eyes pecked out by wild ravens and eaten by young vultures.
18These three things are amazingly hard for me, four things I just can't understand:
19The way an eagle soars in the sky, the way a snake slides over a rock, the way a ship sails across the sea, the way a man and a woman fall in love.
20This is the way of a woman who commits adultery: she eats,#30:20. This is often assumed to refer to the act of adultery. she wipes her mouth, and then says, “I haven't done anything wrong!”
21Three things make the earth tremble, there are four things it can't support:
22a slave becoming a king, a stupid person eating like a pig,
23an unbearable woman getting married, and a maidservant taking her mistress's place.
24There are four things on earth that are small, but very wise:
25Ants—they're not strong, but they work hard all summer storing up food.
26Hyraxes#30:26. Also known as rock badgers or coneys.—they don't have much power, but they make their homes in the rock.
27Locusts—they don't have a king, but they all march in line abreast.
28Lizards—you can catch them in your hands, but they live in the king's palace.
29There are three things that are glorious to watch as they walk, four that look dignified as they move:
30The lion, supreme among wild animals, who isn't frightened of anything.
31The strutting starling,#30:31. “Starling”: as per modern Hebrew and Aramaic, some ancient versions have “rooster.” the male goat, and a king with his army.
32If you have been foolishly boasting about yourself, or if you've been planning to do something wrong, stop and put your hand over your mouth.
33Just as churning milk produces butter, and twisting someone's nose makes it bleed, so stirring up anger causes arguments.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com