Proverbs 30

The Words of Agur

¹These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh—the burden that this man declared to Ithiel:

“I am weary, O God,

and worn out.

• PROV 30:1[NOTE]AGUR. Nothing is known about Agur, Jakeh or Ithiel outside this chapter. The Hebrew of 30:1 is hard; some read Ithiel as I am weary, O God, as this Bible does in the next line. The burden can also be read as of Massa, a tribe in Arabia, Genesis 25:14.

²Surely I am the most ignorant of men,

and I lack the understanding of a man.

³I have not learned wisdom,

and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴Who has ascended to heaven and come down?

Who has gathered the wind in His hands?

Who has bound up the waters in His cloak?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—

surely you know!

• PROV 30:4[FORESHADOW]Who went up to heaven and came down, and what is the name of His Son → JN 3:13MEDIUM
• PROV 30:4[NOTE]WHAT IS HIS SON'S NAME? Agur asks who made the world, and what is the name of His Son. Jesus said no one has gone up to heaven except the One who came down, the Son of Man, John 3:13. Many Jewish readers think the son is Israel, God's son, Exodus 4:22.

⁵Every word of God is flawless;

He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

• PROV 30:5[NOTE]EVERY WORD. This line echoes Psalm 18:30, and 30:6 echoes Deuteronomy 4:2: do not add to His words.

⁶Do not add to His words,

lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.

⁷Two things I ask of You—

do not refuse me before I die:

⁸Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.

Give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with the bread that is my portion.

⁹Otherwise, I may have too much

and deny You, saying, ‘Who is Yahweh?’

Or I may become poor and steal,

profaning the name of my God.

¹⁰Do not slander a servant to his master,

or he will curse you, and you will bear the guilt.

¹¹There is a generation of those who curse their fathers

and do not bless their mothers.

¹²There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes

and yet unwashed of their filth.

¹³There is a generation—how haughty are their eyes

and pretentious are their glances—

¹⁴there is a generation whose teeth are swords

and whose jaws are knives,

devouring the oppressed from the earth

and the needy from among men.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters:

Give and Give.

There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’:

• PROV 30:15[NOTE]THREE THINGS, NO, FOUR. Agur counts things that never get enough, that amaze him, that shake the earth, and that are small but wise. Same style as 6:16.

¹⁶Sheol,

the barren womb,

land never satisfied with water,

and fire that never says, ‘Enough!’

¹⁷As for the eye that mocks a father

and scorns obedience to a mother,

may the ravens of the valley pluck it out

and young vultures devour it.

¹⁸There are three things too wonderful for me, four that I cannot understand:

¹⁹the way of an eagle in the sky,

the way of a snake on a rock,

the way of a ship at sea,

and the way of a man with a maiden.

²⁰This is the way of an adulteress:

She eats and wipes her mouth

and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’

²¹Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up:

²²a servant who becomes king,

a fool who is filled with food,

²³an unloved woman who marries,

and a maidservant who supplants her mistress.

²⁴Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise:

²⁵The ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;

²⁶the rock badgers are creatures of little power, yet they make their homes in the rocks;

²⁷the locusts have no king, yet they all advance in formation;

²⁸and the lizard can be caught in one’s hands, yet it is found in the palaces of kings.

²⁹There are three things that are stately in their stride, and four that are impressive in their walk:

³⁰a lion, mighty among beasts, refusing to retreat before anything;

³¹a strutting rooster;

a he-goat;

and a king with his army around him.

³²If you have foolishly exalted yourself

or if you have plotted evil,

put your hand over your mouth.

³³For as the churning of milk yields butter,

and the twisting of the nose draws blood,

so the stirring of anger brings forth strife.”