< Proverbs 30 >
1 These are sayings/messages that God gave to Agur, the son of Jakeh. [Agur wrote them] for Ithiel and Ucal.
2 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 [how to become] wise and I do not know [much] about God.
4 [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 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 to (OR, change) what God has said; if you do that, he will rebuke you and show that you are lying.
7 [God], I ask you to do two things for me; [please] do them before I die:
8 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 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 (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 [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 Some people think that they are perfect, but [really] they have never been cleansed from their guilt for committing disgusting sins.
13 Some people are very proud; they think that they are very good and they despise others.
14 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 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 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 )
17 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 four things that are wonderful to me, [but] I do not understand any of them:
19 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 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 There are four things that no [one in] the world can tolerate:
22 [What] a slave [does who] becomes a king, a foolish person eating [too much] food,
23 [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 animals on the earth that are small, but they are very wise:
25 Ants are not strong, but they store up food during the summer [in order to have it during the winter].
26 Rock badgers [also] are not strong, but they make their homes among the rocks [where they will be safe].
27 Locusts do not have a king, but they march like [the soldiers in] an army.
28 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] four animals that strut around and look very impressive while they walk [DOU]:
30 Lions, which are stronger than all other animals and are not afraid of any of them;
31 male goats, strutting roosters, and kings who (parade/walk proudly back and forth) in front of the people whom they rule.
32 If you have acted foolishly, exalting yourself, or if you been planning [to do something] evil, stop it immediately [IDM]!
33 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.
