Proverbs 30
1 These are sayings/messages that God gave to Agur, the son of Jakeh. [Agur wrote them] for Ithiel and Ucal.
The words of the Gatherer, the son of the Vomiter. The vision that the man spoke. God is with him, and he, being strengthened by God and abiding with him, said:
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.
“I am the most foolish among men, and the wisdom of men is not with me.
3 I have not learned [how to become] wise and I do not know [much] about God.
I have not learned wisdom, and I have not known the knowledge of sanctity.
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].
Who has ascended to heaven and also descended? Who has grasped the wind in his hands? Who has tied the waters together, as with a garment? Who has raised all the limits of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son, if you know?
5 Everything that God has said is true; he is [like] a shield [MET] for all those who request him to protect them.
Every word of God is fire-tested. He is a bronze shield to those who hope in him.
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.
Do not add anything to his words, lest you be reproved and be discovered to be a liar.
7 [God], I ask you to do two things for me; [please] do them before I die:
Two things I have asked of you; do not deny them to me 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;
Remove, far from me, vanity and lying words. Give me neither begging, nor wealth. Apportion to me only the necessities of my life,
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.
lest perhaps, being filled, I might be enticed into denial, and say: ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or, being compelled by destitution, I might steal, and then perjure myself in the name of my God.
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.
Do not accuse a servant to his lord, lest he curse you, and you fall.
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.
There is a generation which curses their father, and which does not bless their mother.
12 Some people think that they are perfect, but [really] they have never been cleansed from their guilt for committing disgusting sins.
There is a generation which seems pure to themselves, and yet they are not even washed from their filthiness.
13 Some people are very proud; they think that they are very good and they despise others.
There is a generation, whose eyes have been elevated, and their eyelids are lifted on high.
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.
There is a generation which has swords in place of teeth, and which commands their molars to devour the indigent from the earth and the poor from among men.
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]:
The leech has two daughters, who say, ‘Bring, bring.’ Three things are insatiable, and a fourth never says ‘Enough’:
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 h7585)
Hell, and the mouth of the womb, and a land that is not filled with water. And truly, fire never says, ‘Enough.’ (Sheol h7585)
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.
The eye of one who mocks his father and who despises the childbearing of his mother, let the ravens of the torrent tear it out, and let the sons of the eagles consume it.
18 There are four things that are wonderful to me, [but] I do not understand any of them:
Three things are difficult for me, and about a fourth, I am nearly ignorant:
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.
the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the middle of the sea, and the way of a man in adolescence.
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!”
Such is the way also of an adulterous woman, who eats, and wiping her mouth, says: “I have done no evil.”
21 There are four things that no [one in] the world can tolerate:
By three things, the earth is moved, and a fourth it is not able to sustain:
22 [What] a slave [does who] becomes a king, a foolish person eating [too much] food,
by a slave when he reigns, by the foolish when he has been filled with 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.
by a hateful woman when she has been taken in matrimony, and by a handmaid when she has been heir to her mistress.
24 [There are] four animals on the earth that are small, but they are very wise:
Four things are least upon the earth, and they are wiser than the wise:
25 Ants are not strong, but they store up food during the summer [in order to have it during the winter].
the ants, an infirm people who provide food for themselves at the harvest,
26 Rock badgers [also] are not strong, but they make their homes among the rocks [where they will be safe].
the rabbit, a sickened people who make their bed upon the rock.
27 Locusts do not have a king, but they march like [the soldiers in] an army.
The locust has no king, but they all depart by their troops.
28 Lizards/Geckos [are very small and] you can hold them in your hand, but they are [cleverly able to get] inside kings’ palaces.
The lizard supports itself on hands and dwells in the buildings of kings.
29 [There are] four animals that strut around and look very impressive while they walk [DOU]:
There are three things that advance well, and a fourth that marches happily on:
30 Lions, which are stronger than all other animals and are not afraid of any of them;
a lion, the strongest of beasts, who fears nothing that he meets,
31 male goats, strutting roosters, and kings who (parade/walk proudly back and forth) in front of the people whom they rule.
a rooster prepared at the loins, likewise a ram, and a king, whom none can resist.
32 If you have acted foolishly, exalting yourself, or if you been planning [to do something] evil, stop it immediately [IDM]!
There is one who has appeared foolish, after he was lifted up on high; for if he had understood, he would have placed his hand over his mouth.
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.
But whoever strongly squeezes the udder to bring out the milk, presses out butter. And whoever violently blows his nose, brings out blood. And whoever provokes wrath, brings forth discord.”
