Proverbs 30 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

The Words of Agur

Pro 30:1The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.[fn]
The man declares, I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and worn out.[fn]

Pro 30:2

Pro 30:2Surely I am too stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.

Pro 30:3

Pro 30:3I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.

Pro 30:4

Pro 30:4Who 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!

Pro 30:5

Pro 30:5Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Pro 30:6

Pro 30:6Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

Pro 30:7

Pro 30:7Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me before I die:

Pro 30:8

Pro 30:8Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,

Pro 30:9

Pro 30:9lest 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.

Pro 30:10

Pro 30:10Do not slander a servant to his master,
lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.

Pro 30:11

Pro 30:11There are those[fn] who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.

Pro 30:12

Pro 30:12There are those who are clean in their own eyes
but are not washed of their filth.

Pro 30:13

Pro 30:13There are those—how lofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!

Pro 30:14

Pro 30:14There are those whose teeth are swords,
whose fangs are knives,
to devour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mankind.

Pro 30:15

Pro 30:15The leech has two daughters:
Give and Give.[fn]
Three things are never satisfied;
four never say, “Enough”:

Pro 30:16

Pro 30:16Sheol, the barren womb,
the land never satisfied with water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough.”

Pro 30:17

Pro 30:17The 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.

Pro 30:18

Pro 30:18Three things are too wonderful for me;
four I do not understand:

Pro 30:19

Pro 30:19the 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.

Pro 30:20

Pro 30:20This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done no wrong.”

Pro 30:21

Pro 30:21Under three things the earth trembles;
under four it cannot bear up:

Pro 30:22

Pro 30:22a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is filled with food;

Pro 30:23

Pro 30:23an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.

Pro 30:24

Pro 30:24Four things on earth are small,
but they are exceedingly wise:

Pro 30:25

Pro 30:25the ants are a people not strong,
yet they provide their food in the summer;

Pro 30:26

Pro 30:26the rock badgers are a people not mighty,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;

Pro 30:27

Pro 30:27the locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in rank;

Pro 30:28

Pro 30:28the lizard you can take in your hands,
yet it is in kings’ palaces.

Pro 30:29

Pro 30:29Three things are stately in their tread;
four are stately in their stride:

Pro 30:30

Pro 30:30the lion, which is mightiest among beasts
and does not turn back before any;

Pro 30:31

Pro 30:31the strutting rooster,[fn] the he-goat,
and a king whose army is with him.[fn]

Pro 30:32

Pro 30:32If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,
or if you have been devising evil,
put your hand on your mouth.

Pro 30:33

Pro 30:33For pressing milk produces curds,
pressing the nose produces blood,
and pressing anger produces strife.

See the ESV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

ESV Footnotes

(30:1)

Or Jakeh, the man of Massa

(30:1)

Revocalization; Hebrew The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal

(30:11)

Hebrew There is a generation; also verses 12, 13, 14

(30:15)

Or “Give, give,” they cry

(30:31)

Or the magpie, or the greyhound; Hebrew girt-of-loins

(30:31)

Or against whom there is no rising up

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

Proverbs Chapter 30 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation New International Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

Proverbs 30 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

The Words of Agur

ESV Footnotes

Proverbs Chapter 30 — Additional Translations:

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