Proverbs 30:1-19 - Compare All Versions

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The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance. This man’s utterance to Ithiel: “I am weary, God, but I can prevail. Surely I am only a brute, not a man; I do not have human understanding. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One. Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son? Surely you know! “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. “Two things I ask of you, LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. “Do not slander a servant to their master, or they will curse you, and you will pay for it. “There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth; those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful; those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among mankind. “The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ they cry. “There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’: the grave, the barren womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’ “The eye that mocks a father, that scorns an aged mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures. “There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a young woman.

The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. The man declares, I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out. Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up 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? Surely you know! Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest 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. Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty. There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers. There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth. There are those—how lofty are their eyes, how high their eyelids lift! There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind. The leech has two daughters: Give and Give. Three things are never satisfied; four never say, “Enough”: Sheol, the barren womb, the land never satisfied with water, and the fire that never says, “Enough.” The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures. Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a virgin.

The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh contain this message. I am weary, O God; I am weary and worn out, O God. I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense. I have not mastered human wisdom, nor do I know the Holy One. Who 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! Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection. Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar. O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For 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. Never slander a worker to the employer, or the person will curse you, and you will pay for it. Some people curse their father and do not thank their mother. They are pure in their own eyes, but they are filthy and unwashed. They look proudly around, casting disdainful glances. They have teeth like swords and fangs like knives. They devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among humanity. The leech has two suckers that cry out, “More, more!” There are three things that are never satisfied— no, four that never say, “Enough!”: the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing fire. The eye that mocks a father and despises a mother’s instructions will be plucked out by ravens of the valley and eaten by vultures. There are three things that amaze me— no, four things that I don’t understand: how 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.

The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The pronouncement.  , The man’s oration to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:  I am more stupid than any other person,  and I lack a human’s ability to understand.  I have not gained wisdom, and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.  Who has gone up to heaven and come down?  Who has gathered the wind in his hands? Who has bound up the waters in a cloak?  Who has established all the ends of the earth?  What is his name, and what is the name of his son — if you know?  Every word of God is pure;  , he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.  Don’t add to his words,  or he will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.  Two things I ask of you; don’t deny them to me before I die: Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need.  Otherwise, I might have too much  and deny you,  saying, “Who is the  LORD? ”  or I might have nothing and steal,  profaning  the name of my God.  Don’t slander a servant to his master or he will curse you,  and you will become guilty. There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother.  There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,  yet is not washed from its filth. There is a generation — how haughty its eyes and pretentious its looks.  There is a generation whose teeth are swords,  whose fangs are knives,  devouring the oppressed from the land  and the needy from among mankind. The leech has two daughters: “Give, Give! ” Three things  are never satisfied; four never say, “Enough! ”: Sheol;  a childless womb;  earth, which is never satisfied with water; and fire, which never says, “Enough! ” As for the eye that ridicules a father  and despises obedience to a mother, may ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures eat it.  Three things are too wondrous for me;  four I can’t understand: the 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.

The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: The man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal, Surely I am more brutish than any man, And have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom, Nor have the knowledge of the holy. Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name, If thou canst tell? Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. Two things have I required of thee; Deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? Or lest I be poor, and steal, And take the name of my God in vain. Accuse not a servant unto his master, Lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty. There is a generation that curseth their father, And doth not bless their mother. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, And yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men. The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, Yea, four things say not, It is enough: The grave; and the barren womb; The earth that is not filled with water; And the fire that saith not, It is enough. The eye that mocketh at his father, And despiseth to obey his mother, The ravens of the valley shall pick it out, And the young eagles shall eat it. There be three things which are too wonderful for me, Yea, four which I know not: The way of an eagle in the air; The way of a serpent upon a rock; The way of a ship in the midst of the sea; And the way of a man with a maid.

The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal: Surely I am more stupid than any man, And do not have the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom Nor have knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who 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? Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar. Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest 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. Do not malign a servant to his master, Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty. There is a generation that curses its father, And does not bless its mother. There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness. There is a generation—oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, And whose fangs are like knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, And the needy from among men. The leech has two daughters— Give and Give! There are three things that are never satisfied, Four never say, “Enough!”: The grave, The barren womb, The earth that is not satisfied with water— And the fire never says, “Enough!” The 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. There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand: The 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.

The 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. “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!” The 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.” And 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.” * * * Don’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! Don’t curse your father or fail to bless your mother. Don’t imagine yourself to be quite presentable when you haven’t had a bath in weeks. Don’t be stuck-up and think you’re better than everyone else. Don’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. A freeloader has twin daughters named “Gimme” and “Gimme more.” 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. * * * An eye that disdains a father and despises a mother— that eye will be plucked out by wild vultures and consumed by young eagles. Three 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. * * *

The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the pronouncement. T he man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal: I am certainly more stupid than any man, And I do not have the understanding of a man; Nor have I learned wisdom, Nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His Son’s name? Surely you know! ¶Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words Or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar. ¶Two things I have asked of You; Do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, So that I will not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the LORD?” And that I will not become impoverished and steal, And profane the name of my God. ¶Do not slander a slave to his master, Or he will curse you and you will be found guilty. ¶There is a kind of person who curses his father And does not bless his mother. There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, Yet is not washed from his filthiness. There is a kind—oh how lofty are his eyes! And his eyelids are raised in arrogance. There is a kind of person whose teeth are like swords And his jaw teeth like knives, To devour the poor from the earth And the needy from among mankind. ¶The leech has two daughters: “Give” and “Give.” There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, “Enough”: Sheol, the infertile womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, “Enough.” The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it. ¶There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand: The way of the eagle in the sky, The way of a snake on a rock, The way of a ship in the middle of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin.

The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle: T he man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ucal: Surely I am more brutish and stupid than any man, And I do not have the understanding of a man [for I do not know what I do not know]. I have not learned [skillful and godly] wisdom, Nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One [who is the source of wisdom]. Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name? Certainly you know! [John 3:13; Rev 19:12] ¶Every word of God is tested and refined [like silver]; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him. [Ps 18:30; 84:11; 115:9-11] Do not add to His words, Or He will reprove you, and you will be found a liar. ¶Two things I have asked of You; Do not deny them to me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, So that I will not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the LORD?” Or that I will not be poor and steal, And so profane the name of my God. [Deut 8:12, 14, 17; Neh 9:25, 26; Job 31:24; Hos 13:6] ¶Do not slander or malign a servant before his master [stay out of another’s personal life], Or he will curse you [for your interference], and you will be found guilty. ¶There is a generation (class of people) that curses its father And does not bless its mother. There is a generation (class of people) that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness. There is a generation (class of people)—oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are raised in arrogance. There is a generation (class of people) whose teeth are like swords And whose jaw teeth are like knives, To devour the afflicted from the earth And the needy from among men. ¶The leech has two daughters, “Give, give!” There are three things that are never satisfied, Four that do not say, “It is enough”: Sheol, and the barren womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, “It is enough.” The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young vultures will devour it. [Lev 20:9; Prov 20:20; 23:22] ¶There are three things which are too astounding and unexpectedly wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the air, 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 with a maid.

The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh; an oracle: This man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ukal: Surely I am more brutish than any other human being, and I do not have human understanding; I have not learned wisdom, nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended into heaven, and then descended? Who has gathered up the winds in his fists? Who has bound up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? – if you know! Every word of God is purified; he is like a shield for those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he reprove you, and prove you to be a liar. Two things I ask from you; do not refuse me before I die: Remove falsehood and lies far from me; do not give me poverty or riches, feed me with my allotted portion of bread, lest I become satisfied and act deceptively and say, “Who is the LORD?” Or lest I become poor and steal and demean the name of my God. Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you are found guilty. There is a generation who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers. There is a generation who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation whose eyes are so lofty, and whose eyelids are lifted up disdainfully. There is a generation whose teeth are like swords and whose molars are like knives to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among the human race. The leech has two daughters: “Give! Give!” There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, “Enough” – the grave, the barren womb, land that is not satisfied with water, and fire that never says, “Enough!” The eye that mocks at a father and despises obeying a mother – the ravens of the valley will peck it out and the young vultures will eat it. There are three things that are too wonderful for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship in the sea, and the way of a man with a woman.