The Words of Agur
7
Two things I ask of You;
don’t deny them to me before I die:
8 don’t deny them to me before I die:
Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need.(L)
9 Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need.(L)
Otherwise, I might have too much(M)
and deny You,(N) saying, “Who is the Lord?”(O)
or I might have nothing and steal,(P)
profaning(e) the name of my God.(Q)
and deny You,(N) saying, “Who is the Lord?”(O)
or I might have nothing and steal,(P)
profaning(e) the name of my God.(Q)
11
12
13
14
There is a generation whose teeth are swords,(U)
whose fangs are knives,(V)
devouring the oppressed from the land(W)
and the needy from among mankind.
whose fangs are knives,(V)
devouring the oppressed from the land(W)
and the needy from among mankind.
15
The leech has two daughters: “Give, Give!”
Three things(X) are never satisfied;
four never say, “Enough!”:
16 Three things(X) are never satisfied;
four never say, “Enough!”:
Sheol;(Y) a childless womb;(Z)
earth, which is never satisfied with water;
and fire, which never says, “Enough!”
earth, which is never satisfied with water;
and fire, which never says, “Enough!”
17
As for the eye that ridicules a father(AA)
and despises obedience to a mother,
may ravens of the valley pluck it out
and young vultures eat it.(AB)
and despises obedience to a mother,
may ravens of the valley pluck it out
and young vultures eat it.(AB)
18
Three things are beyond me;
four I can’t understand:
19 four I can’t understand:
the 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 young woman.
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship at sea,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20
This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”(AC)
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”(AC)
Footnotes:
a.
Proverbs 30:1: Or son of Jakeh from Massa; Pr 31:1
b.
Proverbs 30:1: Hb uncertain. Sometimes read with different word division as oration: I am weary, God, I am weary, God, and I am exhausted, or oration: I am not God, I am not God, that I should prevail. LXX reads My son, fear my words and when you have received them repent. The man says these things to the believers in God, and I pause.
c.
Proverbs 30:2: Lit I am more stupid than a man
d.
Proverbs 30:5: Lit refined
e.
Proverbs 30:9: Lit grabbing
f.
Proverbs 30:13: Lit and its eyelids lifted up
g.
Proverbs 30:28: Or spider
h.
Proverbs 30:31: Or a greyhound
i.
Proverbs 30:31: LXX reads king addressing his people