Proverbs 30
30
The Words of Agur Ben Yakeh
God? Who Needs Him?
1-2The skeptic swore, “There is no God!
No God!—I can do anything I want!
I’m more animal than human;
so-called human intelligence escapes me.
3-4“I flunked ‘wisdom.’
I see no evidence of a holy God.
Has anyone ever seen Anyone
climb into Heaven and take charge?
grab the winds and control them?
gather the rains in his bucket?
stake out the ends of the earth?
Just tell me his name, tell me the names of his sons.
Come on now—tell me!”
5-6The believer replied, “Every promise of God proves true;
he protects everyone who runs to him for help.
So don’t second-guess him;
he might take you to task and show up your lies.”
7-9And then he prayed, “God, I’m asking for two things
before I die; don’t refuse me—
Banish lies from my lips
and liars from my presence.
Give me enough food to live on,
neither too much nor too little.
If I’m too full, I might get independent,
saying, ‘God? Who needs him?’
If I’m poor, I might steal
and dishonor the name of my God.”
* * *
10Don’t blow the whistle on your fellow workers
behind their backs;
They’ll accuse you of being underhanded,
and then you’ll be the guilty one!
11Don’t curse your father
or fail to bless your mother.
12Don’t imagine yourself to be quite presentable
when you haven’t had a bath in weeks.
13Don’t be stuck-up
and think you’re better than everyone else.
14Don’t be greedy,
merciless and cruel as wolves,
Tearing into the poor and feasting on them,
shredding the needy to pieces only to discard them.
15-16A freeloader has twin daughters
named “Gimme” and “Gimme more.”
Four Insatiables
Three things are never satisfied,
no, there are four that never say, “That’s enough, thank you!”—
hell,
a barren womb,
a parched land,
a forest fire.
* * *
17An eye that disdains a father
and despises a mother—
that eye will be plucked out by wild vultures
and consumed by young eagles.
Four Mysteries
18-19Three things amaze me,
no, four things I’ll never understand—
how an eagle flies so high in the sky,
how a snake glides over a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
why adolescents act the way they do.
* * *
20Here’s how a prostitute operates:
she has sex with her client,
Takes a bath,
then asks, “Who’s next?”
Four Intolerables
21-23Three things are too much for even the earth to bear,
yes, four things shake its foundations—
when the janitor becomes the boss,
when a fool gets rich,
when a prostitute is voted “woman of the year,”
when a “girlfriend” replaces a faithful wife.
Four Small Wonders
24-28There are four small creatures,
wisest of the wise they are—
ants—frail as they are,
get plenty of food in for the winter;
marmots—vulnerable as they are,
manage to arrange for rock-solid homes;
locusts—leaderless insects,
yet they strip the field like an army regiment;
lizards—easy enough to catch,
but they sneak past vigilant palace guards.
Four Dignitaries
29-31There are three solemn dignitaries,
four that are impressive in their bearing—
a lion, king of the beasts, deferring to none;
a rooster, proud and strutting;
a billy goat;
a head of state in stately procession.
* * *
32-33If you’re dumb enough to call attention to yourself
by offending people and making rude gestures,
Don’t be surprised if someone bloodies your nose.
Churned milk turns into butter;
riled emotions turn into fist fights.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Mishlĕ (Proverbs) 30
30
1The words of Aḡur son of Yaqeh, a message. This man declared to Ithi’ĕl, to Ithi’ĕl and Uḵal:
2For I am more stupid than anyone, And do not have the understanding of a man.
3And I have not learned wisdom That I should know the knowledge of the Set-apart One.
4Who has gone up to the heavens and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who established all the ends of the earth? What is His Name, And what is His Son’s Name, If you know it?
5Every Word of Eloah is tried;#See Psa. 12:6; Psa. 18:30 He is a shield to those taking refuge in Him.
6Do not add to His Words,#See Deu. 4:2; Deu. 12:32; Rev. 22:18, 19 Lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.
7Two matters I have asked of You – Deny them not to me before I die:
8Remove falsehood and a lying word far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me my lawfull bread;
9Lest I become satisfied and deny You, And say, “Who is יהוה?” And lest I be poor, and steal, And seize the Name of my Elohim.
10Do not slander a servant to his master, Lest he curse you, And you be found guilty.
11There is a generation that curses its father, And does not bless its mother –
12There is a generation, clean in its own eyes, But not washed from its own filth.
13There is a generation; Oh, how haughty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up.
14There is a generation whose teeth are swords, And whose jaw-teeth are knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, And the needy from among men.
15The leech has two daughters: “Give! Give!” Three are not satisfied, Four that never say, “Enough”:
16She’ol, and the barren womb, Soil not satisfied with water, And fire which never says, “Enough.”
17An eye that mocks his father, And scorns to obey his mother – Ravens of the wadi dig it out, And young eagles eat it!
18Three matters are too marvellous for me, And four which I do not understand:
19The way of an eagle in the heavens, 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.#See Explanatory Notes "Maiden"
20This is the way of an adulterous woman: She shall eat and wipe her mouth, and say, “I have not done wickedness.”
21Under three matters the earth trembles, And under four, it is unable to bear:
22Under a servant when he reigns, And a fool when he is satisfied with food,
23Under a hated woman who marries, And a female servant who supplants her mistress.
24There are four matters Which are little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise:
25The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer;
26The rock badgers are a weak folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags;
27The locusts have no sovereign, Yet they all go out in formation;
28A spider takes hold with two hands, And is in sovereigns’ palaces.
29There are three matters That are going well, And four are good in walking:
30A lion, which is mighty among beasts And does not turn away from facing all;
31A greyhound, and a male goat, And a sovereign whose army is with him.
32If you have been foolish in lifting up yourself, Or if you have plotted evil, Put your hand on your mouth.
33For as milk under pressure brings forth curds, And as a nose under pressure brings forth blood, So wrath under pressure brings forth strife.
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