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 Gatherer the son of Vomiter. The vision which the man spoke with whom God is, and who being strengthened by God, 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 of 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 have not known the science of saints.
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 hath ascended up into heaven, and descended? who hath held the wind in his hands? who hath bound up the waters together as in a garment? who hath raised up all the borders of the earth? what is his name, and what is the name of his son, if thou knowest?
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 tried: he is a buckler to them that 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.
Add not any thing to his words, lest thou be reproved, and found 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 thee, deny them not 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 beggary, nor riches: give me only the necessaries of 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 should be tempted to deny, and say: Who is the Lord? or being compelled by poverty, I should steal, and forswear 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.
Accuse not a servant to his master, lest he curse thee, and thou 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 that curseth their father, and doth 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.
A generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness.
13 Some people are very proud; they think that they are very good and they despise others.
A generation, whose eyes are lofty, and their eyelids lifted up 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.
A generation, that for teeth hath swords, and grindeth with their jaw teeth, to devour the needy from off 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 horseleech hath two daughters that say: Bring, bring. There are three things that never are satisfied, and the fourth never saith: It is 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 the earth which is not satisfied with water: and the fire never saith: It is 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 that mocketh at his father, and that despiseth the labour of his mother in bearing him, let the ravens of the brooks pick it out, and the young eagles eat it.
18 There are four things that are wonderful to me, [but] I do not understand any of them:
Three things are hard to me, and the fourth I am utterly ignorant of.
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 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 in youth.
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 also the way of an adulterous woman, who eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith: I have done no evil.
21 There are four things that no [one in] the world can tolerate:
By three things the earth is disturbed, and the fourth it cannot bear:
22 [What] a slave [does who] becomes a king, a foolish person eating [too much] food,
By a slave when he reigneth: by a fool when he is filled with meat:
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 an odious woman when she is married: and by a bondwoman when she is heir to her mistress.
24 [There are] four animals on the earth that are small, but they are very wise:
There are four very little things of 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, a feeble people, which provide themselves food in 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 weak people, which maketh its bed in the rock:
27 Locusts do not have a king, but they march like [the soldiers in] an army.
The locust hath no king, yet they all go out by their bands.
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 stellio supporteth itself on hands, and dwelleth in kings’ houses.
29 [There are] four animals that strut around and look very impressive while they walk [DOU]:
There are three things, which go well, and the fourth that walketh happily:
30 Lions, which are stronger than all other animals and are not afraid of any of them;
A lion, the strongest of beasts, who hath no fear of any thing he meeteth:
31 male goats, strutting roosters, and kings who (parade/walk proudly back and forth) in front of the people whom they rule.
A cock girded about the loins: and 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 that hath appeared a fool after he was lifted up on high: for if he had understood, he would have laid his hand upon 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.
And he that strongly squeezeth the papa to bring out milk, straineth out butter: and he that violently bloweth his nose, bringeth out blood: and he that provoketh wrath bringeth forth strife.
