30 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,

Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.

I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.

Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?

Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:

Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:

Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

10 Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.

11 There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.

12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.

14 There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

15 The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:

16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.

17 The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

18 There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:

19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

21 For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:

22 For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;

23 For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

24 There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:

25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

26 The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;

27 The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

28 The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.

29 There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:

30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;

31 A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.

32 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.

33 Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

The Wisdom of Agur

30 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:

(A)Surely I am more stupid than any man,
And do not have the understanding of a man.
I neither learned wisdom
Nor have (B)knowledge of the Holy One.

(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?
What is His name, and what is His Son’s name,
If you know?

(E)Every word of God is [a]pure;
(F)He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
(G)Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
(H)Feed me with the food allotted to me;
(I)Lest 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.

10 Do not malign a servant to his master,
Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.

11 There is a generation that curses its (J)father,
And does not bless its mother.
12 There is a generation (K)that is pure in its own eyes,
Yet is not washed from its filthiness.
13 There is a generation—oh, how (L)lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids are [b]lifted up.
14 (M)There is a generation whose teeth are like swords,
And whose fangs are like knives,
(N)To devour the poor from off the earth,
And the needy from among men.

15 The leech has two daughters—
Give and Give!

There are three things that are never satisfied,
Four never say, “Enough!”:
16 (O)The[c] grave,
The barren womb,
The earth that is not satisfied with water—
And the fire never says, “Enough!”

17 (P)The eye that mocks his father,
And scorns obedience to his mother,
The ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young eagles will eat it.

18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Yes, four which I 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 This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wickedness.”

21 For three things the 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]hateful woman when she is married,
And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.

24 There are four things which are little on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
25 (R)The ants are a 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 three things which are majestic in pace,
Yes, four which are stately in walk:
30 A lion, which is mighty among beasts
And does not turn away from any;
31 A [h]greyhound,
A male goat also,
And [i]a king whose troops are with him.

32 If you have been foolish in exalting yourself,
Or if you have devised evil, (T)put your hand on your mouth.
33 For as the churning of milk produces butter,
And wringing the nose produces blood,
So the forcing of wrath produces strife.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 30:5 tested, refined, found pure
  2. Proverbs 30:13 In arrogance
  3. Proverbs 30:16 Or Sheol
  4. Proverbs 30:19 Lit. heart
  5. Proverbs 30:23 Or hated
  6. Proverbs 30:26 rock hyraxes
  7. Proverbs 30:28 Or lizard
  8. Proverbs 30:31 Or perhaps strutting rooster, lit. girded of waist
  9. Proverbs 30:31 A Jewish tradition a king against whom there is no uprising

The Words of Agur

30 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the pronouncement.

The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:

I am certainly more (A)stupid than any man,
And I do not have the understanding of a man;
Nor have I learned wisdom,
Nor do I have the (B)knowledge of the Holy One.
Who has (C)ascended into heaven and descended?
Who has gathered the (D)wind in His fists?
Who has (E)wrapped the waters in [a]His garment?
Who has (F)established all the ends of the earth?
What is His (G)name or His [b]Son’s name?
Surely you know!

Every (H)word of God is [c]pure;
He is a (I)shield to those who take refuge in Him.
(J)Do not add to His words
Or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.

Two things I have asked of You;
Do not refuse me before I die:
Keep deception and [d]lies far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the (K)food that is my portion,
So that I will not be (L)full and deny (M)You and say, “Who is the Lord?”
And that I will not become (N)impoverished and steal,
And (O)profane the name of my God.

10 Do not slander a slave to his master,
Or he will (P)curse you and you will be found guilty.

11 There is a [e]kind of person who (Q)curses his father
And does not bless his mother.
12 There is a [f]kind who is (R)pure in his own eyes,
Yet is not washed from his filthiness.
13 There is a [g]kind—oh how (S)lofty are his eyes!
And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.
14 There is a [h]kind of person whose (T)teeth are like swords
And his (U)jaw teeth like knives,
To (V)devour the poor from the earth
And the needy from among mankind.

15 The leech has two daughters:
“Give” and “Give.”
There are three things that will not be satisfied,
Four that will not say, “Enough”:
16 [i](W)Sheol, the (X)infertile womb,
Earth that is never satisfied with water,
And fire that never says, “Enough.”
17 The eye that (Y)mocks a father
And [j](Z)scorns a mother,
The (AA)ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young (AB)eagles will eat it.

18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Four which I do not understand:
19 The way of the (AC)eagle in the sky,
The way of a snake on a rock,
The way of a ship in the middle of the sea,
And the way of a man with a [k]virgin.
20 This is the way of an (AD)adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wrong.”

21 Under three things the earth quakes,
And under four, it cannot endure:
22 Under a (AE)slave when he becomes king,
And a fool when he is satisfied with food,
23 Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
And a female servant when she dispossesses her mistress.

24 Four things are small on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
25 The (AF)ants are not a strong people,
But they prepare their food in the summer;
26 The (AG)rock hyraxes are not a mighty people,
Yet they make their houses in the rocks;
27 The locusts have no king,
Yet all of them go out in (AH)ranks;
28 The lizard you may grasp with the hands,
Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

29 There are three things which are stately in their march,
Even four which are stately when they walk:
30 The lion, which is (AI)mighty among animals
And does not [l](AJ)retreat from anything,
31 The [m]strutting rooster or the male goat,
And a king when his army is with him.

32 If you have been foolish in exalting yourself,
Or if you have plotted evil, (AK)put your hand on your mouth.
33 For the [n]churning of milk produces butter,
And pressing the nose produces blood;
So the [o]churning of (AL)anger produces strife.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 30:4 Lit the
  2. Proverbs 30:4 Or son’s
  3. Proverbs 30:5 Lit refined
  4. Proverbs 30:8 Lit words of falsehood
  5. Proverbs 30:11 Or generation
  6. Proverbs 30:12 Or generation
  7. Proverbs 30:13 Or generation
  8. Proverbs 30:14 Or generation
  9. Proverbs 30:16 I.e., The netherworld
  10. Proverbs 30:17 Lit despises to obey
  11. Proverbs 30:19 Lit young unmarried woman
  12. Proverbs 30:30 Lit turn back
  13. Proverbs 30:31 Lit girt in the loins
  14. Proverbs 30:33 Lit pressing
  15. Proverbs 30:33 Lit pressing

亞古珥的箴言

30 以下是雅基的兒子亞古珥的箴言。

    這人說:上帝啊,我很疲倦;
    上帝啊,我很疲倦,精疲力盡。[a]
我比眾人都愚蠢,
    不具備人的悟性。
我從未學到智慧,
    也不認識至聖者。
誰升上高天又降下來?
    誰將風聚在掌中?
    誰將眾水裹在衣服裡?
    誰定了地的邊界?
    祂叫什麼名字?
    祂兒子叫什麼名字?
    你知道嗎?

上帝的話句句千真萬確,
    祂作投靠祂之人的盾牌。
你不可對祂的話有所添加,
    免得祂責備你,
    揭穿你的虛謊。

上帝啊,我向你求兩件事,
    求你在我未死以前賜給我。
求你使虛偽和謊言遠離我,
    求你讓我不貧窮也不富足,
    賜給我需用的飲食,
免得我因為飽足就不認你,
    說:「耶和華是誰呢?」
    又恐怕我因窮困而偷竊,
    以致辱沒我上帝的名。

10 別向主人譭謗他的僕人,
    免得你受咒詛、擔當罪責。

11 有一種[b]人咒詛父親,
    不為母親祝福。
12 有一種人自以為純潔,
    卻沒有洗掉自己的污穢。
13 有一種人趾高氣揚,
    目空一切。
14 有一種人牙如劍,
    齒如刀,
    要吞吃世間的困苦人和貧窮人。

15 水蛭有兩個女兒,
    她們不停地叫:「給我!給我!」
三樣東西從不知足,
永不言「夠」的共有四樣:
16 陰間、不孕的婦人、
    乾旱的土地和火焰。
17 嘲笑父親、藐視母親教誨的,
    眼睛必被谷中的烏鴉啄出,
    被禿鷹吃掉。

18 我測不透的妙事有三樣,
我不明白的事共有四樣:
19 鷹在空中飛翔之道,
    蛇在石上爬行之道,
    船在海中航行之道,
    男女相愛之道。

20 淫婦的道是這樣:
    她吃完就擦擦嘴,
    說,「我沒有做壞事。」

21 使大地震動的事有三樣,
大地無法承受的事共有四樣:
22 奴僕做王,
    愚人吃飽,
23 醜惡女子出嫁,
    婢女取代主母。

24 地上有四種動物,
    身體雖小卻極其聰明:
25 螞蟻力量雖小,
    卻在夏天儲備糧食;
26 石獾雖不強壯,
    卻在岩石中築巢穴;
27 蝗蟲雖無君王,
    卻整齊地列隊前進;
28 壁虎雖易捕捉,
    卻居住在王宮大內。

29 步履威武的有三樣,
走路雄壯的共有四樣:
30 威震百獸、從不畏縮的獅子,
31 昂首闊步的雄雞,
    公山羊和率領軍隊的君王。
32 你若行事愚昧、
    妄自尊大或圖謀不軌,
    就當用手掩口。
33 激起憤怒會引起爭端,
    正如攪牛奶會攪出奶油,
    擰鼻子會擰出血。

Footnotes

  1. 30·1 希伯來文或譯「這人對以鐵說,對以鐵和烏甲說:」
  2. 30·11 」希伯來文是「世代」,11-14節也相同。