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 sayings/messages that God gave to Agur, the son of Jakeh. [Agur wrote them] for Ithiel and Ucal.
2 For I am more brutish than any one, And have not 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 Nor have I learned wisdom, Yet the knowledge of Holy Ones I know.
I have not learned [how to become] wise and I do not know [much] about God.
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!
[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 saying of God [is] tried, A shield He [is] to those trusting 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 reason with thee, And thou hast been found false.
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 I have asked from Thee, Withhold not from me before I die.
[God], I ask you to do two things for me; [please] do them before I 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,
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 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.
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 Accuse not a servant unto his lord, Lest he disesteem thee, and thou be found guilty.
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 A generation [is], that lightly esteemeth their father, And their mother doth not bless.
[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 A generation — pure in their own eyes, But from their own filth not washed.
Some people think that they are perfect, but [really] they have never been cleansed from their guilt for committing disgusting sins.
13 A generation — how high are their eyes, Yea, their eyelids are lifted up.
Some people are very proud; they think that they are very good and they despise 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.
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 To the leech [are] two daughters, 'Give, give, Lo, three things are not satisfied, Four have not said 'Sufficiency;'
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 Sheol, and a restrained womb, Earth — it [is] not satisfied [with] water, And fire — it hath not said, 'Sufficiency,' (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 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.
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 Three things have been too wonderful for me, Yea, four that I have not known:
There are four things that are wonderful to me, [but] I do not understand any of them:
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.
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 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 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 For three things hath earth been troubled, And for four — it is not able to bear:
There are four things that no [one in] the world can tolerate:
22 For a servant when he reigneth, And a fool when he is satisfied with bread,
[What] a slave [does who] becomes a king, a foolish person eating [too much] food,
23 For a hated one when she ruleth, And a maid-servant when she succeedeth 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 Four [are] little ones of earth, And they are made wiser than the wise:
[There are] four animals on the earth that are small, but they are very wise:
25 The ants [are] a people not strong, And they prepare in summer their food,
Ants are not strong, but they store up food during the summer [in order to have it during the winter].
26 Conies [are] a people not strong, And they place in a rock their house,
Rock badgers [also] are not strong, but they make their homes among the rocks [where they will be safe].
27 A king there is not to the locust, And it goeth out — each one shouting,
Locusts do not have a king, but they march like [the soldiers in] an army.
28 A spider with two hands taketh hold, And is in the palaces of a king.
Lizards/Geckos [are very small and] you can hold them in your hand, but they are [cleverly able to get] inside kings’ palaces.
29 Three there are going well, Yea, four are good in going:
[There are] four animals that strut around and look very impressive while they walk [DOU]:
30 An old lion — mighty among beasts, That turneth not back from the face of any,
Lions, which are stronger than all other animals and are not afraid of any of them;
31 A girt one of the loins, or a he-goat, And a king — no rising up with him.
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 up thyself, And if thou hast devised evil — hand to mouth!
If you have acted foolishly, exalting yourself, or if you been planning [to do something] evil, stop it immediately [IDM]!
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!
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.
