Proverbs 30New King James Version
The Wisdom of Agur
30 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh,hisutterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 (A)Surely Iammore stupid thananyman,
And do not have the understanding of a man.
3 I neither learned wisdom
Nor have(B)knowledge of the Holy One.
4 (C)Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?
(D)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?
WhatisHis name, and whatisHis Son’s name,
If you know?
5 (E)Every word of Godis[a]pure;
(F)Heisa shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6 (G)Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
7 TwothingsI request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
(H)Feed me with the food allotted to me;
9 (I)Lest I be full and denyYou,
And say, “WhoistheLord?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.
10 Do not malign a servant to his master,
Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.
11 There isa generationthatcurses its(J)father,
And does not bless its mother.
12 There isa generation(K)that ispure in its own eyes,
Yetis not washed from its filthiness.
13 There isa generation—oh, how(L)lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids are[b]lifted up.
14 (M)There isa generation whose teethare likeswords,
And whose fangsare likeknives,
(N)To devour the poor from off the earth,
And the needy fromamongmen.
15 The leech has two daughters—
GiveandGive!
There are threethings thatare never satisfied,
Four never say, “Enough!”:
16 (O)The[c]grave,
The barren womb,
The earththatis not satisfied with water—
And the fire never says, “Enough!”
17 (P)The eyethatmockshisfather,
And scorns obedience tohismother,
The ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young eagles will eat it.
18 There are threethings whichare too wonderful for me,
Yes, fourwhichI do not understand:
19 The way of an eagle in the air,
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a ship in the[d]midst of the sea,
And the way of a man with a virgin.
20 Thisisthe way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wickedness.”
21 For threethingsthe earth is perturbed,
Yes, for four it cannot bear up:
22 (Q)For a servant when he reigns,
A fool when he is filled with food,
23 A[e]hatefulwomanwhen she is married,
And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.
24 There are fourthings whichare little on the earth,
But theyareexceedingly wise:
25 (R)The antsarea people not strong,
Yet they prepare their food in the summer;
26 (S)The[f]rock badgers are a feeble folk,
Yet they make their homes in the crags;
27 The locusts have no king,
Yet they all advance in ranks;
28 The[g]spider skillfully grasps with its hands,
And it is in kings’ palaces.
29 There are threethings whichare majestic in pace,
Yes, fourwhichare stately in walk:
30 A lion,which ismighty among beasts
And does not turn away from any;
31 A[h]greyhound,
A male goat also,
And[i]a kingwhosetroopsarewith him.
32 If you have been foolish in exalting yourself,
Or if you have devised evil,(T)put yourhand onyourmouth.
33 Forasthe churning of milk produces butter,
And wringing the nose produces blood,
So the forcing of wrath produces strife.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:5tested, refined, found pure
- Proverbs 30:13In arrogance
- Proverbs 30:16OrSheol
- Proverbs 30:19Lit.heart
- Proverbs 30:23Orhated
- Proverbs 30:26rock hyraxes
- Proverbs 30:28Orlizard
- Proverbs 30:31Or perhapsstrutting rooster,lit.girded of waist
- Proverbs 30:31A Jewish traditiona king against whom there is no uprising
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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