Proverbs 30
1 The words of Agur the son of Yakeh, even the prophecy: the man said unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ukkal,
These are sayings/messages that God gave to Agur, the son of Jakeh. [Agur wrote them] for Ithiel and Ucal.
2 “Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a common 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 Nor have I learned wisdom, so that I should have knowledge of the Holy One.
I have not learned [how to become] wise and I do not know [much] about God.
4 Who was it that ascended into heaven, and came down again? who gathered the wind in his fists? who bound the waters in a garment? who set up all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou knowest it?”
[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 saying of God is purified: he is a shield unto those that put their trust 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 Do not add aught 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 do I request of thee: deny them not to me before I die.
[God], I ask you to do two things for me; [please] do them before I die:
8 Vanity and lying words do thou remove far from me: neither poverty nor riches give thou unto me; let me eat the bread appointed unto me:
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 become over-full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I become poor, and steal, and trespass against 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 Do not calumniate a servant unto his master: lest he curse thee, and thou incur guilt.
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 curseth its father, and doth not bless its 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 is pure in its own eyes, and yet is not washed [clean] of its 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—O how lofty are its eyes! and its eyelids are so 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 whose string teeth are 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 Insatiability hath two daughters, [crying, ] Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things which never say, 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 nether world; and a barren womb; the earth which is not satisfied with water; and the fire which never saith, 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, this shall the ravens of the valley pick out; and the young eagles 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 Three things there are which are too wonderful for me; and 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 the eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the heart 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 Such is the way of an adulterous woman: she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wrong.
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 Under three things the earth trembleth, and under four which she cannot bear:
There are four things that no [one in] the world can tolerate:
22 Under a servant when he becometh king, and a worthless fool when he hath eaten enough bread;
[What] a slave [does who] becomes a king, a foolish person eating [too much] food,
23 Under an odious woman when she is married, and a bond-woman when she dispossesseth 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 which are the little ones of the earth, and they are nevertheless exceedingly wise:
[There are] four animals on the earth that are small, but they are very wise:
25 The ants are a people not strong, therefore do they prepare in the summer their food;
Ants are not strong, but they store up food during the summer [in order to have it during the winter].
26 The conies are but a feeble people, therefore do they place on the rocks their houses;
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, and yet they go forth in troops altogether;
Locusts do not have a king, but they march like [the soldiers in] an army.
28 The spider thou canst catch with [thy] hands, and yet she is in the palaces of a king.
Lizards/Geckos [are very small and] you can hold them in your hand, but they are [cleverly able to get] inside kings’ palaces.
29 Three there are that have a stately step, and four, that are stately in going:
[There are] four animals that strut around and look very impressive while they walk [DOU]:
30 The lion, the mightiest among beasts, who turneth not round from before any one;
Lions, which are stronger than all other animals and are not afraid of any of them;
31 The light-legged greyhound, and the he-goat; and a 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 become degraded by lifting up thyself, or if thou hast devised evil, put thy hand to 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 pressure of milk bringeth forth butter, and the pressure of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the pressure 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.
