Proverbs 30
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The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
2 Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.
3 I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.
4 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?
5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
7 Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:
8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
9 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.
10 Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
11 There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
14 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.
15 The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
17 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.
18 There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
19 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.
20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
21 For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:
22 For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;
23 For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
24 There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
26 The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
27 The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
28 The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.
29 There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:
30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
31 A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
32 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
33 Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
Public Domain KJV text from Wordproject.org
Proverbs 30:1-33
The Words of Agur
1The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.
The man declares, I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and worn out.
2Surely I am too stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
3I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
4Who 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!
5Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
7Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me before I die:
8Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9lest 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 slander a servant to his master,
lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.
11There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12There are those who are clean in their own eyes
but are not washed of their filth.
13There are those—how lofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!
14There are those whose teeth are swords,
whose fangs are knives,
to devour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mankind.
15The leech has two daughters:
Give and Give.
Three things are never satisfied;
four never say, “Enough”:
16Sheol, the barren womb,
the land never satisfied with water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough.”
17The 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.
18Three things are too wonderful for me;
four I do not understand:
19the 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.
20This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done no wrong.”
21Under three things the earth trembles;
under four it cannot bear up:
22a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is filled with food;
23an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
24Four things on earth are small,
but they are exceedingly wise:
25the ants are a people not strong,
yet they provide their food in the summer;
26the rock badgers are a people not mighty,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27the locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in rank;
28the lizard you can take in your hands,
yet it is in kings’ palaces.
29Three things are stately in their tread;
four are stately in their stride:
30the lion, which is mightiest among beasts
and does not turn back before any;
31the strutting rooster, the he-goat,
and a king whose army is with him.
32If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,
or if you have been devising evil,
put your hand on your mouth.
33For pressing milk produces curds,
pressing the nose produces blood,
and pressing anger produces strife.
ESV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Prov. 30:1-33
Sayings of Agur
1The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance.
This man’s utterance to Ithiel:
“I am weary, God,
but I can prevail.
2Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
I do not have human understanding.
3I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.
4Who 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!
5“Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6Do not add to his words,
or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.
7“Two things I ask of you, Lord;
do not refuse me before I die:
8Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9Otherwise, 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.
10“Do not slander a servant to their master,
or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.
11“There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers;
12those who are pure in their own eyes
and yet are not cleansed of their filth;
13those whose eyes are ever so haughty,
whose glances are so disdainful;
14those whose teeth are swords
and whose jaws are set with knives
to devour the poor from the earth
and the needy from among mankind.
15“The leech has two daughters.
‘Give! Give!’ they cry.
“There are three things that are never satisfied,
four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
16the grave
and the barren womb;
land, which is never satisfied with water,
and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’
17“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.
18“There are three things that are too amazing for me,
four that I do not understand:
19the 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.
20“This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth
and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’
21“Under three things the earth trembles,
under four it cannot bear up:
22a servant who becomes king,
a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
23a contemptible woman who gets married,
and a servant who displaces her mistress.
24“Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
25Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer;
26hyraxes are creatures of little power,
yet they make their home in the crags;
27locusts have no king,
yet they advance together in ranks;
28a lizard can be caught with the hand,
yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
29“There are three things that are stately in their stride,
four that move with stately bearing:
30a lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing;
31a strutting rooster,
a he-goat,
and a king secure against revolt.
32“If you play the fool and exalt yourself,
or if you plan evil,
clap your hand over your mouth!
33For as churning cream produces butter,
and as twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife.”
NIV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Commentary
Proverbs 30 is the penultimate chapter of this amazing collection of writings, and introduces us to an inspired author, Agur.
Agur uses a literary device common in his day by highlighting a certain grouping of ideas. In this chapter, the number he chose is 4. The prophet Amos used this same number as a literary device eight times in his book. Read the verses by each of the “fours" and spend a few moments understanding the main point of each.
• Four wicked generations (v. 11-14).
• Four things insatiable (v. 15, 16), to which is added fair warning to undutiful children (v. 17).
• Four things unsearchable (v. 18-20).
• Four things intolerable (v. 21-23).
• Four things little and wise (v. 24-28).
• Four things stately (v. 29 to the end).
What can we learn from these “fours?” God’s wisdom is greater than our own and many aspects of life and of God’s creation will remain a mystery beyond our understanding. So what are we to do as followers of God? Live life with a proper fear of God and concern for other people, as God’s followers.
Mark Etchell
Pastor, Loma Linda Campus Hill Church, California USA (as of this writing)
