Proverbs 30:1-29
New American Standard Bible
2I am certainly more stupid than any man, And I do not have the understanding of a man;
3Nor have I learned wisdom, Nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy One.
4Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His Son’s name? Surely you know!
5Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
6Do not add to His words Or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.
7Two things I have asked of You; Do not refuse me before I die:
8Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,
9So that I will not be full and deny You and say, 'Who is the Lord?' And that I will not become impoverished and steal, And profane the name of my God.
10Do not slander a slave to his master, Or he will curse you and you will be found guilty.
11There is a kind of person who curses his father And does not bless his mother.
12There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, Yet is not washed from his filthiness.
13There is a kind—oh how lofty are his eyes! And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.
14There is a kind of person whose teeth are like swords And his jaw teeth like knives, To devour the poor from the earth And the needy from among mankind.
15The leech has two daughters: 'Give' and 'Give.' There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, 'Enough':
16 Sheol, the infertile womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, 'Enough.'
17The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.
18There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand:
19The way of the eagle in the sky, The way of a snake on a rock, The way of a ship in the middle of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin.
20This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, 'I have done no wrong.'
21Under three things the earth quakes, And under four, it cannot endure:
22Under a slave when he becomes king, And a fool when he is satisfied with food,
23Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband, And a female servant when she dispossesses her mistress.
24Four things are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise:
25The ants are not a strong people, But they prepare their food in the summer;
26The rock hyraxes are not a mighty people, Yet they make their houses in the rocks;
27The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in ranks;
28The lizard you may grasp with the hands, Yet it is in kings’ palaces.
29There are three things which are stately in their march, Even four which are stately when they walk:
King James Version
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 30
1The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The pronouncement. The man’s oration to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal: 2I am more stupid than any other person, and I lack a human’s ability to understand. 3I have not gained wisdom, and I have no knowledge of the Holy One. 4Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his hands? Who has bound up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son— if you know? 5Every word of God is pure; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6Don’t add to his words, or he will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.
7Two things I ask of you; don’t deny them to me before I die:
8Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need.
10Don’t slander a servant to his master or he will curse you, and you will become guilty.
11There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother.
12There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filth.
13There is a generation—how haughty its eyes and pretentious its looks.
14There is a generation whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, devouring the oppressed from the land and the needy from among mankind.
15The leech has two daughters: "Give, Give!" Three things are never satisfied; four never say, "Enough!":
17As for the eye that ridicules a father and despises obedience to a mother, may ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures eat it.
18Three things are too wondrous for me; four I can’t understand:
20This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, "I’ve done nothing wrong."
21The earth trembles under three things; it cannot bear up under four:
22a servant when he becomes king, a fool when he is stuffed with food,
23an unloved woman when she marries, and a servant girl when she ousts her queen.
24Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise:
25ants are not a strong people, yet they store up their food in the summer;
26hyraxes are not a mighty people, yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27locusts have no king, yet all of them march in ranks;
New Living Translation
Chapter 30
1The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh contain this message. I am weary, O God; I am weary and worn out, O God. 2I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense. 3I have not mastered human wisdom, nor do I know the Holy One.
5Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
6Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.
7O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die.
8First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
9For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.
11Some people curse their father and do not thank their mother.
12They are pure in their own eyes, but they are filthy and unwashed.
13They look proudly around, casting disdainful glances.
14They have teeth like swords and fangs like knives. They devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among humanity.
15The leech has two suckers that cry out, 'More, more!' There are three things that are never satisfied — no, four that never say, 'Enough!':
16the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing fire.
18There are three things that amaze me — no, four things that I don’t understand:
19how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman.
21There are three things that make the earth tremble — no, four it cannot endure:
22a slave who becomes a king, an overbearing fool who prospers,
23a bitter woman who finally gets a husband, a servant girl who supplants her mistress.
24There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise:
25Ants — they aren’t strong, but they store up food all summer.
26Hyraxes — they aren’t powerful, but they make their homes among the rocks.
27Locusts — they have no king, but they march in formation.
28Lizards — they are easy to catch, but they are found even in kings’ palaces.
English Standard Version
2Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man.
3I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
4Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son 's name? Surely you know!
5 Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
7Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die:
8Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
10 Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.
11There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
12There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth.
13There are those — how lofty are their eyes, how high their eyelids lift!
14There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind.
15The leech has two daughters: Give and Give. Three things are never satisfied; four never say, "Enough":
16 Sheol, the barren womb, the land never satisfied with water, and the fire that never says, "Enough."
17The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.
18 Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand:
19the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a virgin.
20This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, "I have done no wrong."
21Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot bear up:
22 a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is filled with food;
23 an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
24 Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise:
25 the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer;
26 the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank;
28the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings ' palaces.
29 Three things are stately in their tread; four are stately in their stride:
New International Version
Chapter 30
1The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance. This man’s utterance to Ithiel: "I am weary, God, but I can prevail. 2Surely I am only a brute, not a man; I do not have human understanding. 3I have not learned wisdom, nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.
4Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a 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!
5"Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.
7"Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die:
8Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
10"Do not slander a servant to their master, or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.
11"There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers;
12those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth;
13those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful;
17"The eye that mocks a father, that scorns an aged mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures.
18"There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand:
20"This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’
21"Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up:
22a servant who becomes king, a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
23a contemptible woman who gets married, and a servant who displaces her mistress.
24"Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise:
25Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;
26hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags;
27locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks;
New King James Version
Chapter 30
1The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 Surely I am more stupid than any man, And do not have the understanding of a man.
3I neither learned wisdom Nor have knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, If you know?
5 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
7Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die):
8Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me;
9 Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God.
10Do not malign a servant to his master, Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.
11 There is a generation that curses its father, And does not bless its mother.
12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness.
13 There is a generation—oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up.
14 There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, And whose fangs are like knives, To devour the poor from off 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 never say, “Enough!”:
16 The grave, The barren womb, The earth that is not satisfied with water— And the fire never says, “Enough!”
17 The eye that mocks his father, And scorns obedience to his mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.
18There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand:
19The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin.
20This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, “I have done no wickedness.”
21For three things the earth is perturbed, Yes, for four it cannot bear up:
22 For a servant when he reigns, A fool when he is filled with food,
23A hateful woman when she is married, And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.
24There are four things which are little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise:
25 The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer;
26 The rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags;
27The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks;
28The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings’ palaces.
29There are three things which are majestic in pace, Yes, four which are stately in walk:
