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 ותבוז 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 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.