1 These are the words of Agur, son of Jakeh. An oracle. This is what the man says, God, I'm really tired, I'm worn out. 2 I'm so stupid I'm not really a man; I can't even think like a human being. 3 I have not learned wisdom; I have no knowledge of the Holy One. 4 Who has gone up to heaven, and come down? Who holds the winds in the palm of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has set the earth's boundaries? What is his name, and what is his son's name? Are you sure you don't know? 5 Every word God says has been proved true. He defends everyone who comes to him for protection. 6 Don't add anything to his words, or he will criticize you and you'll be shown to be a liar. 7 God, I want to request two things from you. Please don't refuse to let me have them before I come to die. 8 Keep me from being false, help me not to tell lies. Don't make me poor or rich; just provide me with the food I need. 9 Otherwise if I have plenty of money, I may give up on you, saying, “Who is the Lord?” while if I'm poor I may steal and bring the name of my God into disrepute. 10 Don't slander a servant to his master, or he will curse you and you'll suffer for it. 11 There are some who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers. 12 There are some who see themselves as pure but they're still filthy—they have not been washed. 13 There are some who think themselves so high and mighty, and who look down on others. 14 There are some who have teeth like swords, incisors like knives, ready to devour the poor from the earth, the needy from society. 15 The leech has two daughters who cry out, “Give me! Give me!” There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, “Enough!”: 16 The grave, the womb that doesn't become pregnant, the earth thirsty for water, and the fire that never says, “Enough!” 17 People who ridicule their fathers and despise obedience to the mother will have their eyes pecked out by wild ravens and eaten by young vultures. 18 These three things are amazingly hard for me, four things I just can't understand: 19 The way an eagle soars in the sky, the way a snake slides over a rock, the way a ship sails across the sea, the way a man and a woman fall in love. 20 This is the way of a woman who commits adultery: she eats, she wipes her mouth, and then says, “I haven't done anything wrong!” 21 Three things make the earth tremble, there are four things it can't support: 22 a slave becoming a king, a stupid person eating like a pig, 23 an unbearable woman getting married, and a maidservant taking her mistress's place. 24 There are four things on earth that are small, but very wise: 25 Ants—they're not strong, but they work hard all summer storing up food. 26 Hyraxes—they don't have much power, but they make their homes in the rock. 27 Locusts—they don't have a king, but they all march in line abreast. 28 Lizards—you can catch them in your hands, but they live in the king's palace. 29 There are three things that are glorious to watch as they walk, four that look dignified as they move: 30 The lion, supreme among wild animals, who isn't frightened of anything. 31 The strutting starling, the male goat, and a king with his army. 32 If you have been foolishly boasting about yourself, or if you've been planning to do something wrong, stop and put your hand over your mouth. 33 Just as churning milk produces butter, and twisting someone's nose makes it bleed, so stirring up anger causes arguments.
Proverbs 30 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Agur
Named in Proverbs 30:1 as the speaker whose words and burden are recorded there, addressed to Ithiel and Ucal.
Cited in the guide: Proverbs 30:1
Jakeh
Named only as the father of Agur, whose words fill Proverbs 30.
Cited in the guide: Proverbs 30:1
Cross references (29)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Proverbs 31:1; 2 Peter 1:19–21
- 2 Psalm 73:22; 1 Corinthians 3:18; Proverbs 5:12; 1 Corinthians 8:2; Isaiah 6:5
- 3 Ephesians 3:18–19; Revelation 3:7; Proverbs 9:10; Romans 11:33; Job 11:7–9
- 4 John 3:13; Ephesians 4:8–10; Job 26:8; Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 7:14
- 5 Psalm 18:30; Psalm 12:6; James 3:17; Psalm 84:11; Psalm 3:3
- 6 Deuteronomy 12:32; Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18–19; Job 13:7–9; 1 Corinthians 15:15
- 7 Luke 10:42; Psalm 27:4; 2 Kings 2:9; 1 Kings 3:5–9; Psalm 21:2
- 8 1 Timothy 6:6–8; Psalm 62:9–10; Psalm 119:37; Matthew 6:33; Luke 11:3
- 9 Hosea 13:6; Deuteronomy 31:20; Ezekiel 16:49–50; Deuteronomy 8:10–14; Nehemiah 9:25–26
- 10 Ecclesiastes 7:21; Romans 14:4; Daniel 3:8–18; 2 Samuel 19:26–27; 2 Chronicles 24:22–24
- 11 Proverbs 20:20; Deuteronomy 27:16; Proverbs 30:17; Exodus 21:17; Proverbs 30:12–14
- 12 Luke 18:11; Proverbs 16:2; 2 Timothy 3:5; Jeremiah 2:35; Titus 3:5
- 13 Proverbs 6:17; Isaiah 2:11; Psalm 101:5; Psalm 131:1; Ezekiel 28:9
- 14 Psalm 57:4; Psalm 3:7; Psalm 14:4; Job 29:17; Psalm 58:6
- 15 Proverbs 30:21; Romans 16:18; Proverbs 6:16; Proverbs 30:29; Jude 11–12
- 16 Proverbs 27:20; Habakkuk 2:5; Genesis 30:1
- 17 Proverbs 30:11; Proverbs 23:22; Deuteronomy 21:18–21; Leviticus 20:9; Proverbs 20:20
- 18 Job 42:3; Psalm 139:6
- 20 Proverbs 7:13–23; Proverbs 5:6; Numbers 5:11–30
- 22 Proverbs 19:10; Ecclesiastes 10:7; 1 Samuel 25:36–38; 1 Samuel 25:3; 1 Samuel 25:10–11
- 23 Proverbs 21:19; Proverbs 27:15; Proverbs 21:9; Proverbs 29:21; Proverbs 19:13
- 24 Job 12:7
- 25 Proverbs 6:6–8
- 26 Psalm 104:18; Leviticus 11:5
- 27 Joel 1:6–7; Joel 2:7–11; Psalm 105:34; Exodus 10:4–6; Joel 2:25
- 30 Judges 14:18; Numbers 23:24
- 31 Daniel 3:15–18; Proverbs 20:2; Proverbs 16:14
- 32 Job 21:5; Romans 3:19; Job 40:4; Micah 7:16–17; Proverbs 26:12
- 33 Proverbs 29:22; Proverbs 17:14; Proverbs 28:25; Proverbs 15:18; Proverbs 26:21
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
The slave shook the world, since by three things the earth is shaken, and the fourth it cannot bear,--if a slave became a king.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
There are in the Book of Proverbs three things which go well, a lion, a goat, and a cock; and to these is added a fourth;--a King making a speech before the people, to pass over the other sets of four which are there counted up, although things of various natures.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)