Proverbs 30
30
The Words of Agur
1The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. # Or son of Jakeh from Massa ; Pr 31:1 # Nm 24:3; Pr 31:1; Nah 1:1; Hab 1:1; Zch 9:1; Mal 1:1
The man’s oration to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal: # Hb uncertain. Sometimes read with different word division as oration: I am weary, God, I am weary, God, and I am exhausted, or oration: I am not God, I am not God, that I should prevail. LXX reads My son, fear my words and when you have received them repent. The man says these things to the believers in God, and I pause.
2I am more stupid than any other man, # Lit I am more stupid than a man
and I lack man’s ability to understand. # 1Kg 3:7
3I have not gained wisdom,
and I have no knowledge of the Holy One. # Pr 9:10
4Who has gone up to heaven and come down? # Jn 3:13; Eph 4:9-10
Who has gathered the wind in His hands?
Who has bound up the waters in a cloak? # Jb 26:8; 38:9
Who has established all the ends of the earth? # Jb 38:4-5; Ps 93:1; 119:90; Is 45:18
What is His name,
and what is the name of His Son —
if you know? # Mt 11:27; Rv 19:12-13
5Every word of God is pure; # Lit refined # Ps 12:6; 18:30
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. # Ps 3:3
6Don’t add to His words, # Dt 4:2; 12:32; Rv 22:18
or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar. # Dt 18:22
7Two things I ask of You;
don’t deny them to me before I die:
8Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need. # Jb 23:12; Mt 6:11; Php 4:11-12
9Otherwise, I might have too much # Dt 6:10-12; 8:11-14
and deny You, # Jos 24:27; Jb 31:28 saying, “Who is the Lord? ” # Ex 5:2
or I might have nothing and steal, # Ex 20:5; Eph 4:28
profaning # Lit grabbing the name of my God. # Lv 19:11-12
10Don’t slander a servant to his master
or he will curse you, # Ec 7:21 and you will become guilty.
11There is a generation that curses its father
and does not bless its mother. # Ex 21:17; Pr 20:20
12There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, # Pr 16:2; Lk 18:11
yet is not washed from its filth.
13There is a generation — how haughty its eyes
and pretentious its looks. # Lit and its eyelids lifted up
14There is a generation whose teeth are swords, # Ps 57:4
whose fangs are knives, # Jb 29:17
devouring the oppressed from the land # Ps 14:4
and the needy from among mankind.
15The leech has two daughters: “Give, Give!”
Three things # Pr 6:16; 30:18,21,29 are never satisfied;
four never say, “Enough! ”:
16Sheol; # Pr 27:20; Hab 2:5 a childless womb; # Gn 30:1
earth, which is never satisfied with water;
and fire, which never says, “Enough! ”
17As for the eye that ridicules a father # Gn 9:22
and despises obedience to a mother,
may ravens of the valley pluck it out
and young vultures eat it. # Dt 28:26
18Three things are beyond me;
four I can’t understand:
19the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship at sea,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I’ve done nothing wrong.” # Pr 28:24; 1Jn 1:8
21The earth trembles under three things;
it cannot bear up under four:
22a servant when he becomes king, # Pr 19:10; Ec 10:7
a fool when he is stuffed with food,
23an unloved woman when she marries, # Gn 29:30-31; Dt 21:15
and a servant girl when she ousts her queen.
24Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
25the ants are not a strong people,
yet they store up their food in the summer; # Pr 6:6-8
26hyraxes are not a mighty people,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs; # Lv 11:5; Ps 104:18
27locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in ranks; # Jl 2:7-8
28a lizard # Or spider can be caught in your hands,
yet it lives in kings’ palaces.
29Three things are stately in their stride,
even four are stately in their walk:
30a lion, which is mightiest among beasts
and doesn’t retreat before anything,
31a strutting rooster, # Or a greyhound a goat,
and a king at the head of his army. # LXX reads king addressing his people
32If you have been foolish by exalting yourself
or if you’ve been scheming,
put your hand over your mouth. # Jb 21:5; Mc 7:16
33For the churning of milk produces butter,
and twisting a nose draws blood,
and stirring up anger produces strife. # Pr 10:12; 29:22
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Proverbs 30: HCSB
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© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 30
30
The Sayings of Agur
1The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh contain this message.#30:1a Or son of Jakeh from Massa; or son of Jakeh, an oracle.
I am weary, O God;
I am weary and worn out, O God.#30:1b The Hebrew can also be translated The man declares this to Ithiel, / to Ithiel and to Ucal.
2I am too stupid to be human,
and I lack common sense.
3I have not mastered human wisdom,
nor do I know the Holy One.
4Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down?
Who holds the wind in his fists?
Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak?
Who has created the whole wide world?
What is his name—and his son’s name?
Tell me if you know!
5Every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
6Do not add to his words,
or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.
7O God, I beg two favors from you;
let me have them before I die.
8First, help me never to tell a lie.
Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!
Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
9For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.
10Never slander a worker to the employer,
or the person will curse you, and you will pay for it.
11Some people curse their father
and do not thank their mother.
12They are pure in their own eyes,
but they are filthy and unwashed.
13They look proudly around,
casting disdainful glances.
14They have teeth like swords
and fangs like knives.
They devour the poor from the earth
and the needy from among humanity.
15The leech has two suckers
that cry out, “More, more!”#30:15 Hebrew two daughters who cry out, “Give, give!”
There are three things that are never satisfied—
no, four that never say, “Enough!”:
16the grave,#30:16 Hebrew Sheol.
the barren womb,
the thirsty desert,
the blazing fire.
17The eye that mocks a father
and despises a mother’s instructions
will be plucked out by ravens of the valley
and eaten by vultures.
18There are three things that amaze me—
no, four things that I don’t understand:
19how an eagle glides through the sky,
how a snake slithers on a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
how a man loves a woman.
20An adulterous woman consumes a man,
then wipes her mouth and says, “What’s wrong with that?”
21There are three things that make the earth tremble—
no, four it cannot endure:
22a slave who becomes a king,
an overbearing fool who prospers,
23a bitter woman who finally gets a husband,
a servant girl who supplants her mistress.
24There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise:
25Ants—they aren’t strong,
but they store up food all summer.
26Hyraxes#30:26 Or Coneys, or Rock badgers.—they aren’t powerful,
but they make their homes among the rocks.
27Locusts—they have no king,
but they march in formation.
28Lizards—they are easy to catch,
but they are found even in kings’ palaces.
29There are three things that walk with stately stride—
no, four that strut about:
30the lion, king of animals, who won’t turn aside for anything,
31the strutting rooster,
the male goat,
a king as he leads his army.
32If you have been a fool by being proud or plotting evil,
cover your mouth in shame.
33As the beating of cream yields butter
and striking the nose causes bleeding,
so stirring up anger causes quarrels.
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