מִשְׁלֵי 30

1 דברי אגור בן-יקה--המשא נאם הגבר לאיתיאל לאיתיאל ואכל

These are sayings/messages that God gave to Agur, the son of Jakeh. [Agur wrote them] for Ithiel and Ucal.

2 כי בער אנכי מאיש ולא-בינת אדם לי

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 ולא-למדתי חכמה ודעת קדשים אדע

I have not learned [how to become] wise and I do not know [much] about God.

4 מי עלה-שמים וירד מי אסף-רוח בחפניו מי צרר-מים בשמלה-- מי הקים כל-אפסי-ארץ מה-שמו ומה-שם-בנו כי תדע

[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 כל-אמרת אלוה צרופה מגן הוא לחסים בו

Everything that God has said is true; he is [like] a shield [MET] for all those who request him to protect them.

6 אל-תוסף על-דבריו פן-יוכיח בך ונכזבת

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 שתים שאלתי מאתך אל-תמנע ממני בטרם אמות

[God], I ask you to do two things for me; [please] do them before I die:

8 שוא ודבר-כזב הרחק ממני-- ראש ועשר אל-תתן-לי הטריפני לחם חקי

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 פן אשבע וכחשתי-- ואמרתי מי יהוה ופן-אורש וגנבתי ותפשתי שם אלהי

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 אל-תלשן עבד אל-אדנו פן-יקללך ואשמת

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 דור אביו יקלל ואת-אמו לא יברך

[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 דור טהור בעיניו ומצאתו לא רחץ

Some people think that they are perfect, but [really] they have never been cleansed from their guilt for committing disgusting sins.

13 דור מה-רמו עיניו ועפעפיו ינשאו

Some people are very proud; they think that they are very good and they despise others.

14 דור חרבות שניו-- ומאכלות מתלעתיו לאכל עניים מארץ ואביונים מאדם

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 לעלוקה שתי בנות-- הב הב שלוש הנה לא תשבענה ארבע לא-אמרו הון

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 שאול ועצר-רחם ארץ לא-שבעה מים ואש לא-אמרה הון (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 עין תלעג לאב-- ותבז ליקהת-אם יקרוה ערבי-נחל ויאכלוה בני-נשר

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 שלשה המה נפלאו ממני וארבע (וארבעה) לא ידעתים

There are four things that are wonderful to me, [but] I do not understand any of them:

19 דרך הנשר בשמים-- דרך נחש עלי-צור דרך-אניה בלב-ים-- ודרך גבר בעלמה

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 כן דרך אשה-- מנאפת אכלה ומחתה פיה ואמרה לא-פעלתי און

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 תחת שלוש רגזה ארץ ותחת ארבע לא-תוכל שאת

There are four things that no [one in] the world can tolerate:

22 תחת-עבד כי ימלוך ונבל כי ישבע-לחם

[What] a slave [does who] becomes a king, a foolish person eating [too much] food,

23 תחת שנואה כי תבעל ושפחה כי תירש גברתה

[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 ארבעה הם קטני-ארץ והמה חכמים מחכמים

[There are] four animals on the earth that are small, but they are very wise:

25 הנמלים עם לא-עז ויכינו בקיץ לחמם

Ants are not strong, but they store up food during the summer [in order to have it during the winter].

26 שפנים עם לא-עצום וישימו בסלע ביתם

Rock badgers [also] are not strong, but they make their homes among the rocks [where they will be safe].

27 מלך אין לארבה ויצא חצץ כלו

Locusts do not have a king, but they march like [the soldiers in] an army.

28 שממית בידים תתפש והיא בהיכלי מלך

Lizards/Geckos [are very small and] you can hold them in your hand, but they are [cleverly able to get] inside kings’ palaces.

29 שלשה המה מיטיבי צעד וארבעה מיטבי לכת

[There are] four animals that strut around and look very impressive while they walk [DOU]:

30 ליש גבור בבהמה ולא-ישוב מפני-כל

Lions, which are stronger than all other animals and are not afraid of any of them;

31 זרזיר מתנים או-תיש ומלך אלקום עמו

male goats, strutting roosters, and kings who (parade/walk proudly back and forth) in front of the people whom they rule.

32 אם-נבלת בהתנשא ואם-זמות יד לפה

If you have acted foolishly, exalting yourself, or if you been planning [to do something] evil, stop it immediately [IDM]!

33 כי מיץ חלב יוציא חמאה-- ומיץ-אף יוציא דם ומיץ אפים יוציא ריב

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.