Proverbs 30 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

The Sayings of Agur

Pro 30:1The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh contain this message.[fn]
I am weary, O God;
I am weary and worn out, O God.[fn]

Pro 30:2

Pro 30:2I am too stupid to be human,
and I lack common sense.

Pro 30:3

Pro 30:3I have not mastered human wisdom,
nor do I know the Holy One.

Pro 30:4

Pro 30:4Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down?
Who holds the wind in his fists?
Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak?
Who has created the whole wide world?
What is his name—and his son’s name?
Tell me if you know!

Pro 30:5

Pro 30:5Every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.

Pro 30:6

Pro 30:6Do not add to his words,
or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.

Pro 30:7

Pro 30:7O God, I beg two favors from you;
let me have them before I die.

Pro 30:8

Pro 30:8First, help me never to tell a lie.
Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!
Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.

Pro 30:9

Pro 30:9For 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.

Pro 30:10

Pro 30:10Never slander a worker to the employer,
or the person will curse you, and you will pay for it.

Pro 30:11

Pro 30:11Some people curse their father
and do not thank their mother.

Pro 30:12

Pro 30:12They are pure in their own eyes,
but they are filthy and unwashed.

Pro 30:13

Pro 30:13They look proudly around,
casting disdainful glances.

Pro 30:14

Pro 30:14They have teeth like swords
and fangs like knives.
They devour the poor from the earth
and the needy from among humanity.

Pro 30:15

Pro 30:15The leech has two suckers
that cry out, “More, more!”[fn]
There are three things that are never satisfied—
no, four that never say, “Enough!”:

Pro 30:16

Pro 30:16the grave,[fn]
the barren womb,
the thirsty desert,
the blazing fire.

Pro 30:17

Pro 30:17The eye that mocks a father
and despises a mother’s instructions
will be plucked out by ravens of the valley
and eaten by vultures.

Pro 30:18

Pro 30:18There are three things that amaze me—
no, four things that I don’t understand:

Pro 30:19

Pro 30:19how 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.

Pro 30:20

Pro 30:20An adulterous woman consumes a man,
then wipes her mouth and says, “What’s wrong with that?”

Pro 30:21

Pro 30:21There are three things that make the earth tremble—
no, four it cannot endure:

Pro 30:22

Pro 30:22a slave who becomes a king,
an overbearing fool who prospers,

Pro 30:23

Pro 30:23a bitter woman who finally gets a husband,
a servant girl who supplants her mistress.

Pro 30:24

Pro 30:24There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise:

Pro 30:25

Pro 30:25Ants—they aren’t strong,
but they store up food all summer.

Pro 30:26

Pro 30:26Hyraxes[fn]—they aren’t powerful,
but they make their homes among the rocks.

Pro 30:27

Pro 30:27Locusts—they have no king,
but they march in formation.

Pro 30:28

Pro 30:28Lizards—they are easy to catch,
but they are found even in kings’ palaces.

Pro 30:29

Pro 30:29There are three things that walk with stately stride—
no, four that strut about:

Pro 30:30

Pro 30:30the lion, king of animals, who won’t turn aside for anything,

Pro 30:31

Pro 30:31the strutting rooster,
the male goat,
a king as he leads his army.

Pro 30:32

Pro 30:32If you have been a fool by being proud or plotting evil,
cover your mouth in shame.

Pro 30:33

Pro 30:33As the beating of cream yields butter
and striking the nose causes bleeding,
so stirring up anger causes quarrels.

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

NLT Footnotes

(30:1)

Or son of Jakeh from Massa; or son of Jakeh, an oracle.

(30:1)

The Hebrew can also be translated The man declares this to Ithiel, / to Ithiel and to Ucal.

(30:15)

Hebrew two daughters who cry out, “Give, give!”

(30:16)

Hebrew Sheol.

(30:26)

Or Coneys, or Rock badgers.

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Proverbs Chapter 30 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard 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 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

NLT Footnotes

Proverbs Chapter 30 — Additional Translations:

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