Proverbs 30
1 The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, even his prophecy; the inspired utterance of the man to Ithiel, even to Ithiel and Ucal.
These are sayings/messages that God gave to Agur, the son of Jakeh. [Agur wrote them] for Ithiel and Ucal.
2 Truly I am more stupid than any man; There is not in me 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 I have not learned wisdom, Nor have I gained the knowledge of the Most Holy.
I have not learned [how to become] wise and I do not know [much] about God.
4 Who hath gone up into heaven and come down? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound up the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what 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 pure; A shield is he to them 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 Add not to his words, Lest he rebuke 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 ask of thee; Withhold them not from me, 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 the food which is needful for 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 be full, and deny thee, And say, “Who is the LORD?” Or lest I be poor, and steal, And violate 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 Talk not against a servant to his master, Lest he curse thee, and thou suffer for it.
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 class of men that curse their fathers, And do not bless their mothers.
[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 class who 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 class, —O how lofty are their eyes, And how are their eyelids lifted up!
Some people are very proud; they think that they are very good and they despise others.
14 There is a class, whose teeth are swords, And their jaw-teeth 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 vampire hath two daughters; “Give! give!” [[is their cry.]] There are three things which are never satisfied; Yea, four which 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 underworld, and the barren womb; The earth, which is not satiated with water, And fire, which never saith, “It is 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 a father, And scorneth to obey a mother, The ravens of the valley shall pick it 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 These three things are too wonderful for me; Yea, there are four which I understand not:
There are four things that are wonderful to me, [but] I do not understand any of them:
19 The track of an eagle in the air, The track of a serpent upon a rock, The track of a ship in the midst of the sea, And the track of a man with a maid.
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 nothing 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 is the earth disquieted; Yea, under four it cannot bear up:
There are four things that no [one in] the world can tolerate:
22 Under a servant when he becometh a king, And a fool when he is filled with bread;
[What] a slave [does who] becomes a king, a foolish person eating [too much] food,
23 Under an odious woman when she becometh a wife, And a handmaid when she becometh 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 small upon the earth, Yet are they wise, instructed in wisdom.
[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 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 a feeble people, Yet do they make their houses in the rocks.
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 do they all go forth in bands.
Locusts do not have a king, but they march like [the soldiers in] an army.
28 The lizard seizeth with its hands, And is in king's 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 These three have a graceful step; Yea, four are graceful in their walk:
[There are] four animals that strut around and look very impressive while they walk [DOU]:
30 The lion, the hero among beasts, Which turneth not back for any;
Lions, which are stronger than all other animals and are not afraid of any of them;
31 The loin-girded war-horse, the he-goat, And a king who cannot be withstood.
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 been foolish in lifting thyself up, And hast meditated evil, Put thy hand on thy mouth!
If you have acted foolishly, exalting yourself, or if you been planning [to do something] evil, stop it immediately [IDM]!
33 For, as the pressing of milk bringeth forth cheese, And as the pressing of the nose bringeth forth blood, So the pressing of anger 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.
