Proverbs 30

1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; the burden. The man saith unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:

These are sayings/messages that God gave to Agur, the son of Jakeh. [Agur wrote them] for Ithiel and Ucal.

2 Surely I am brutish, unlike a man, and have not the understanding of a man;

It seems that I am very stupid; I do not deserve to be considered to be a human; I do not have the good sense that humans should have.

3 And I have not learned wisdom, that I should have the knowledge of the Holy One.

I have not learned [how to become] wise and I do not know [much] about God.

4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in his garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou knowest?

[But let me say this]: No one [RHQ] has ascended to heaven [to find out what God is like] and returned [to tell us]. No one [RHQ] has gathered/held the wind in his hand. No one [RHQ] has wrapped the water [in the ocean] in [a piece of] cloth, and no one [RHQ] has established the boundaries of the earth. [If you know who has done those things, tell me] [RHQ] his name, and the names of his children [SAR]! [But you do not know who has done those things, so you cannot speak with authority about what God is like].

5 Every word of God is tried; He is a shield unto them that take refuge in Him.

Everything that God has said is true; he is [like] a shield [MET] for all those who request him to protect them.

6 Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

Do not add to (OR, change) what God has said; if you do that, he will rebuke you and show that you are lying.

7 Two things have I asked of Thee; deny me them not before I die:

[God], I ask you to do two things for me; [please] do them before I die:

8 Remove far from me falsehood and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with mine allotted bread;

Help me never to lie or deceive [people] and do not cause me to become poor or to become rich. [Just] give me the food that I need;

9 Lest I be full, and deny, and say: 'Who is the LORD?' Or lest I be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God.

because if I become rich, I might say that I do not [RHQ] know you and that I do not need you; and if I become poor, I might dishonor you by stealing things.

10 Slander not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.

Do not (slander/say bad things about) a worker to his boss; if you do that, the worker will curse you, and cause you to have trouble.

11 There is a generation that curse their father, and do not bless their mother.

[I will list four kinds of evil things that people do]: Some people curse their fathers and do not [ask God to] bless their mothers.

12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness.

Some people think that they are perfect, but [really] they have never been cleansed from their guilt for committing disgusting sins.

13 There is a generation, Oh how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.

Some people are very proud; they think that they are very good and they despise others.

14 There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their great teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

Some people [act very cruelly toward others]; [it is as though] [MET] they have teeth that are [like] sharp knives; they severely oppress poor [people] and try to cause them to disappear from the land.

15 The horseleech hath two daughters: 'Give, give.' There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four that say not: 'Enough':

Leeches [are always wanting more blood to suck]; [similarly, greedy people are always] saying “Give [me some]!” or “Give [me more]!” [MET] There are four things that are never (satisfied/content with what they have); they always want more [LIT]:

16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not satisfied with water; and the fire that saith not: 'Enough.' (Sheol h7585)

The place where the dead people are; women who do not have any children; ground that needs water/rain; and a fire that always needs more wood. (Sheol h7585)

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 vultures shall eat it.

Those who [SYN] make fun of their fathers or refuse to obey their mothers (OR, despise their aged mothers) should [die and] have their eyes pecked out by crows, and the [rest of their corpses should be] fed to the vultures.

18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:

There are four things that are wonderful to me, [but] I do not understand any of them:

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 young woman.

How eagles fly in the sky, how snakes [are able to] move/crawl across a big rock, how ships sail on the seas, and how a man falls in love with a woman.

20 So is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith: 'I have done no wickedness.'

This is what a woman who (is not faithful to/does not have sex only with) her husband does: She commits adultery [EUP], and [then] bathes and says, “I have not done anything that is wrong!”

21 For three things the earth doth quake, and for four it cannot endure:

There are four things that no [one in] the world can tolerate:

22 For a servant when he reigneth; and a churl when he is filled with food;

[What] a slave [does who] becomes a king, a foolish person eating [too much] food,

23 For an odious woman when she is married; and a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

[what] a woman who is hated [does when she] gets married, and [what] a female servant [does when she] becomes the boss instead of her mistress.

24 There are four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:

[There are] four animals on the earth that are small, but they are very wise:

25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer;

Ants are not strong, but they store up food during the summer [in order to have it during the winter].

26 The rock-badgers are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the crags;

Rock badgers [also] are not strong, but they make their homes among the rocks [where they will be safe].

27 The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

Locusts do not have a king, but they march like [the soldiers in] an army.

28 The spider thou canst take with the hands, yet is she in kings' palaces.

Lizards/Geckos [are very small and] you can hold them in your hand, but they are [cleverly able to get] inside kings’ palaces.

29 There are three things which are stately in their march, yea, four which are stately in going:

[There are] four animals that strut around and look very impressive while they walk [DOU]:

30 The lion, which is mightiest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;

Lions, which are stronger than all other animals and are not afraid of any of them;

31 The greyhound; the he-goat also; and the king, against whom there is no rising up.

male goats, strutting roosters, and kings who (parade/walk proudly back and forth) in front of the people whom they rule.

32 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast planned devices, lay thy hand upon thy mouth.

If you have acted foolishly, exalting yourself, or if you been planning [to do something] evil, stop it immediately [IDM]!

33 For the churning of milk bringeth forth curd, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood; so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

If you churn milk, it produces butter/curds, and if you hit [someone hard on his] nose, [his nose] bleeds; similarly, if you do something to cause [people to become] angry, strife [usually] results.