Proverbs 30
1 Words of a Gatherer, son of an obedient one, the declaration, an affirmation of the man: — I have wearied myself [for] God, I have wearied myself [for] God, and am consumed.
These are the words of Agur, son of Jakeh. An oracle. This is what the man says, God, I'm really tired, I'm worn out.
2 For I am more brutish than any one, And have not the understanding of a man.
I'm so stupid I'm not really a man; I can't even think like a human being.
3 Nor have I learned wisdom, Yet the knowledge of Holy Ones I know.
I have not learned wisdom; I have no knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who went up to heaven, and cometh down? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound waters in a garment? Who established all ends of the earth? What [is] His name? and what His son's name? Surely thou knowest!
Who has gone up to heaven, and come down? Who holds the winds in the palm of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has set the earth's boundaries? What is his name, and what is his son's name? Are you sure you don't know?
5 Every saying of God [is] tried, A shield He [is] to those trusting in Him.
Every word God says has been proved true. He defends everyone who comes to him for protection.
6 Add not to His words, lest He reason with thee, And thou hast been found false.
Don't add anything to his words, or he will criticize you and you'll be shown to be a liar.
7 Two things I have asked from Thee, Withhold not from me before I die.
God, I want to request two things from you. Please don't refuse to let me have them before I come to die.
8 Vanity and a lying word put far from me, Poverty or wealth give not to me, Cause me to eat the bread of my portion,
Keep me from being false, help me not to tell lies. Don't make me poor or rich; just provide me with the food I need.
9 Lest I become satiated, and have denied, And have said, 'Who [is] Jehovah?' And lest I be poor, and have stolen, And have laid hold of the name of my God.
Otherwise if I have plenty of money, I may give up on you, saying, “Who is the Lord?” while if I'm poor I may steal and bring the name of my God into disrepute.
10 Accuse not a servant unto his lord, Lest he disesteem thee, and thou be found guilty.
Don't slander a servant to his master, or he will curse you and you'll suffer for it.
11 A generation [is], that lightly esteemeth their father, And their mother doth not bless.
There are some who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
12 A generation — pure in their own eyes, But from their own filth not washed.
There are some who see themselves as pure but they're still filthy—they have not been washed.
13 A generation — how high are their eyes, Yea, their eyelids are lifted up.
There are some who think themselves so high and mighty, and who look down on others.
14 A generation — swords [are] their teeth, And knives — their jaw-teeth, To consume the poor from earth, And the needy from [among] men.
There are some who have teeth like swords, incisors like knives, ready to devour the poor from the earth, the needy from society.
15 To the leech [are] two daughters, 'Give, give, Lo, three things are not satisfied, Four have not said 'Sufficiency;'
The leech has two daughters who cry out, “Give me! Give me!” There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, “Enough!”:
16 Sheol, and a restrained womb, Earth — it [is] not satisfied [with] water, And fire — it hath not said, 'Sufficiency,' (Sheol h7585)
The grave, the womb that doesn't become pregnant, the earth thirsty for water, and the fire that never says, “Enough!” (Sheol h7585)
17 An eye that mocketh at a father, And despiseth to obey a mother, Dig it out do ravens of the valley, And eat it do young eagles.
People who ridicule their fathers and despise obedience to the mother will have their eyes pecked out by wild ravens and eaten by young vultures.
18 Three things have been too wonderful for me, Yea, four that I have not known:
These three things are amazingly hard for me, four things I just can't understand:
19 The way of the eagle in the heavens, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the heart of the sea, And the way of a man in youth.
The way an eagle soars in the sky, the way a snake slides over a rock, the way a ship sails across the sea, the way a man and a woman fall in love.
20 So — the way of an adulterous woman, She hath eaten and hath wiped her mouth, And hath said, 'I have not done iniquity.'
This is the way of a woman who commits adultery: she eats, she wipes her mouth, and then says, “I haven't done anything wrong!”
21 For three things hath earth been troubled, And for four — it is not able to bear:
Three things make the earth tremble, there are four things it can't support:
22 For a servant when he reigneth, And a fool when he is satisfied with bread,
a slave becoming a king, a stupid person eating like a pig,
23 For a hated one when she ruleth, And a maid-servant when she succeedeth her mistress.
an unbearable woman getting married, and a maidservant taking her mistress's place.
24 Four [are] little ones of earth, And they are made wiser than the wise:
There are four things on earth that are small, but very wise:
25 The ants [are] a people not strong, And they prepare in summer their food,
Ants—they're not strong, but they work hard all summer storing up food.
26 Conies [are] a people not strong, And they place in a rock their house,
Hyraxes—they don't have much power, but they make their homes in the rock.
27 A king there is not to the locust, And it goeth out — each one shouting,
Locusts—they don't have a king, but they all march in line abreast.
28 A spider with two hands taketh hold, And is in the palaces of a king.
Lizards—you can catch them in your hands, but they live in the king's palace.
29 Three there are going well, Yea, four are good in going:
There are three things that are glorious to watch as they walk, four that look dignified as they move:
30 An old lion — mighty among beasts, That turneth not back from the face of any,
The lion, supreme among wild animals, who isn't frightened of anything.
31 A girt one of the loins, or a he-goat, And a king — no rising up with him.
The strutting starling, the male goat, and a king with his army.
32 If thou hast been foolish in lifting up thyself, And if thou hast devised evil — hand to mouth!
If you have been foolishly boasting about yourself, or if you've been planning to do something wrong, stop and put your hand over your mouth.
33 For the churning of milk bringeth out butter, And the wringing of the nose bringeth out blood, And the forcing of anger bringeth out strife!
Just as churning milk produces butter, and twisting someone's nose makes it bleed, so stirring up anger causes arguments.
