Proverbs 30
30
Wise Sayings of Agur Son of Jakeh
1These are the wise sayings of Agur son of Jakeh from Massa. He says, “God, I am tired, so tired. How can I keep going?”#30:1 He says, “God, … keep going?” Or “This is his message to Ithiel and Ucal.”
2I am stupid. I am not as smart as other people are. 3I have not learned to be wise. I know nothing about the Holy One.#30:3 Holy One Literally, “the holy ones.” 4Who has ever gone up to heaven and come back down? Who gathered the winds in his hand? Who can gather up all the water in his lap? Who set the limits for the world? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Do you know?
5You can trust this: Every word that God speaks is true. God is a safe place for those who go to him. 6So don’t try to change what God says. If you do, he will punish you and prove that you are a liar.
7God, I ask you to do two things for me before I die. 8Don’t let me tell lies. And don’t make me too rich or too poor—give me only enough food for each day. 9If I have too much, I might deny that I need you, Lord. But if I am too poor, I might steal and bring shame to the name of my God.
10Never say bad things about a slave to his master. If you do, he will curse you, and you will suffer for it.
11Some people curse their fathers and refuse to bless their mothers.
12Some people think they are pure, but they have done nothing to remove the filth of their sin.
13Some people are so proud of themselves, and they look down on everyone else.
14There are people whose teeth are like swords and their jaws like knives. They take everything they can from the poor.
15Greedy people know only two things#30:15 Literally, “A leech has two daughters.”: “Give me,” and “Give me.” There are three other things that are never satisfied—really, four things that never have enough: 16the place of death, a woman with no children, dry ground that needs rain, and a fire that will never stop by itself.
17People who make fun of their father or refuse to obey their mother should have their eyes plucked out by wild birds and be eaten by vultures.
18There are three things that are hard for me to understand—really, four things that I don’t understand: 19an eagle flying in the sky, a snake moving on a rock, a ship moving across the ocean, and a man in love with a woman.
20A woman who is not faithful to her husband acts innocent. She eats, wipes her mouth, and says she has done nothing wrong.
21There are three things that make trouble on the earth—really, four that the earth cannot bear: 22a slave who becomes a king, fools who have everything they need, 23a woman whose husband hated her but still married her, and a servant girl who becomes ruler over the woman she serves.
24There are four things on the earth that are small but very wise:
25Ants are small and weak, but they save their food all summer;
26badgers are small animals, but they make their homes in the rocks;
27locusts have no king, but they are able to work together;
28lizards are small enough to catch with your hands, but you can find them living in kings’ palaces.
29There are three things that act important when they walk—really, there are four:
30a lion—he is the warrior of the animals and runs from nothing,
31a rooster walking proudly,#30:31 a rooster walking proudly Or possibly, “a greyhound” or “a war horse.”
a goat,
and a king among his people.
32If you have been foolish enough to become proud and make plans against other people, stop and think about what you are doing.
33Stirring milk causes butter to form. Hitting someone’s nose causes blood to flow. And making people angry causes trouble.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Proverbs 30
30
The Wisdom of Agur
1The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:
2#Ps. 73:22; Prov. 12:1Surely I am more stupid than any man,
And do not have the understanding of a man.
3I neither learned wisdom
Nor have #(Prov. 9:10)knowledge of the Holy One.
4#(Ps. 68:18; John 3:13)Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?
#Job 38:4; Ps. 104:3; Is. 40:12Who 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 His Son’s name,
If you know?
5#Ps. 12:6; 19:8; 119:140Every word of God is pure;
#Ps. 18:30; 84:11; 115:9–11He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6#Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Rev. 22:18Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
7Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
8Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
#Job 23:12; Matt. 6:11; (Phil. 4:19)Feed me with the food allotted to me;
9#Deut. 8:12–14; Neh. 9:25, 26; Hos. 13:6Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.
10Do not malign a servant to his master,
Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.
11There is a generation that curses its #Ex. 21:17; Prov. 20:20father,
And does not bless its mother.
12There is a generation #(Prov. 16:2); Is. 65:5; Luke 18:11; (Titus 1:15, 16)that is pure in its own eyes,
Yet is not washed from its filthiness.
13There is a generation—oh, how #Ps. 131:1; Prov. 6:17; Is. 2:11; 5:15lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids are lifted up.
14#Job 29:17; Ps. 52:2There is a generation whose teeth are like swords,
And whose fangs are like knives,
#Ps. 14:4; Amos 8:4To devour the poor from off the earth,
And the needy from among men.
15The leech has two daughters—
Give and Give!
There are three things that are never satisfied,
Four never say, “Enough!”:
16#Prov. 27:20; Hab. 2:5The grave,
The barren womb,
The earth that is not satisfied with water—
And the fire never says, “Enough!”
17#Gen. 9:22; Lev. 20:9; Prov. 20:20The eye that mocks his father,
And scorns obedience to his mother,
The ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young eagles will eat it.
18There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Yes, four which I do not understand:
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 virgin.
20This 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 perturbed,
Yes, for four it cannot bear up:
22#Prov. 19:10; Eccl. 10:7For a servant when he reigns,
A fool when he is filled with food,
23A hateful woman when she is married,
And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.
24There are four things which are little on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
25#Prov. 6:6The ants are a people not strong,
Yet they prepare their food in the summer;
26#Lev. 11:5; Ps. 104:18The rock badgers are a feeble folk,
Yet they make their homes in the crags;
27The locusts have no king,
Yet they all advance in ranks;
28The spider skillfully grasps with its hands,
And it is in kings’ palaces.
29There are three things which are majestic in pace,
Yes, four which are stately in walk:
30A lion, which is mighty among beasts
And does not turn away from any;
31A greyhound,
A male goat also,
And a king whose troops are with him.
32If you have been foolish in exalting yourself,
Or if you have devised evil, #Job 21:5; 40:4; Mic. 7:16put your hand on your mouth.
33For as the churning of milk produces butter,
And wringing the nose produces blood,
So the forcing of wrath produces strife.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.