1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; The oracle. The man saith unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
2 Surely I am more brutish than any man, And have not the understanding of a man;
3 And I have not learned wisdom, Neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in his garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou knowest?
5 Every word of God is tried: He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him.
6 Add thou not unto his words, Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
7 Two things have I asked of thee; Deny me `them' not before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lies; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is needful for me:
9 Lest I be full, and deny `thee', and say, Who is Jehovah? Or lest I be poor, and steal, And use profanely the name of my God.
10 Slander not a servant unto his master, Lest he curse thee, and thou be held guilty.
11 There is a generation that curse their father, And bless not their mother.
12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, And `yet' are not washed from their filthiness.
13 There is a generation, oh 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 that say not, Enough:
16 Sheol; and the barren womb; The earth that is not satisfied with water; And the fire that saith not, 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 are 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 maiden.
20 So 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 doth tremble, And for four, `which' it cannot bear:
22 For a servant when he is king; And a fool when he is filled with food;
23 For an odious woman when she is married; And a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
24 There are four things which are little upon the earth, But they are exceeding wise:
25 The ants are a people not strong, Yet they provide their food 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 lizard taketh hold with her hands, Yet is she in kings' palaces.
29 There are three things which are stately in their march, Yea, four which are stately in going:
30 The lion, which is mightiest among beasts, And turneth not away for any;
31 The greyhound; the he-goat also; And the 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' thy hand upon thy mouth.
33 For the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, And the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood; So the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Proverbs 30
Commentary on Proverbs 30 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 30
Pr 30:1-33.
1. This is the title of this chapter (see Introduction).
the prophecy—literally, "the burden" (compare Isa 13:1; Zec 9:1), used for any divine instruction; not necessarily a prediction, which was only a kind of prophecy (1Ch 15:27, "a song"). Prophets were inspired men, who spoke for God to man, or for man to God (Ge 20:7; Ex 7:14, 15, 16). Such, also, were the New Testament prophets. In a general sense, Gad, Nathan, and others were such, who were divine teachers, though we do not learn that they ever predicted.
the man spake—literally, "the saying of the man"; an expression used to denote any solemn and important announcement (compare 2Sa 23:1; Ps 36:1; 110:1; Isa 1:24, &c.). Ithiel and Ucal were perhaps pupils.
2-4. brutish—stupid, a strong term to denote his lowly self-estimation; or he may speak of such as his natural condition, as contrasted with God's all-seeing comprehensive knowledge and almighty power. The questions of this clause emphatically deny the attributes mentioned to be those of any creature, thus impressively strengthening the implied reference of the former to God (compare De 30:12-14; Isa 40:12; Eph 4:8).
5. (Compare Ps 12:6; 119:140).
6. Add … words—implying that his sole reliance was on God's all-sufficient teaching.
reprove thee—or, "convict thee"—and so the falsehood will appear.
7-9. A prayer for exemption from wickedness, and the extremes of poverty and riches, the two things mentioned. Contentment is implied as desired.
8. vanity—all sorts of sinful acts (Job 11:11; Isa 5:18).
9. be full … deny—that is, puffed up by the pride of prosperity.
take the name … vain—This is not (Hebrew) the form (compare Ex 20:7), but "take" rather denotes laying violent hold on any thing; that is, lest I assail God's name or attributes, as justice, mercy, &c., which the poor are tempted to do.
10. Accuse not—Slander not (Ps 10:7).
curse … guilty—lest, however lowly, he be exasperated to turn on thee, and your guilt be made to appear.
11-14. Four kinds of hateful persons—(1) graceless children, (2) hypocrites, (3) the proud, (4) cruel oppressors (compare on Pr 30:14; Ps 14:4; 52:2)—are now illustrated; (1) Pr 30:15, 16, the insatiability of prodigal children and their fate; (2) Pr 30:17, hypocrisy, or the concealment of real character; (3 and 4) Pr 30:18-20, various examples of pride and oppression.
15, 16. horse leech—supposed by some to be the vampire (a fabulous creature), as being literally insatiable; but the other subjects mentioned must be taken as this, comparatively insatiable. The use of a fabulous creature agreeably to popular notions is not inconsistent with inspiration.
There are three … yea, four—(Compare Pr 6:16).
17. The eye—for the person, with reference to the use of the organ to express mockery and contempt, and also as that by which punishment is received.
the ravens … eagles … eat—either as dying unnaturally, or being left unburied, or both.
18-20. Hypocrisy is illustrated by four examples of the concealment of all methods or traces of action, and a pertinent example of double dealing in actual vice is added, that is, the adulterous woman.
20. she eateth … mouth—that is, she hides the evidences of her shame and professes innocence.
21-23. Pride and cruelty, the undue exaltation of those unfit to hold power, produce those vices which disquiet society (compare Pr 19:10; 28:3).
23. heir … mistress—that is, takes her place as a wife (Ge 16:4).
24-31. These verses provide two classes of apt illustrations of various aspects of the moral world, which the reader is left to apply. By the first (Pr 30:25-28), diligence and providence are commended; the success of these insignificant animals being due to their instinctive sagacity and activity, rather than strength. The other class (Pr 30:30, 31) provides similes for whatever is majestic or comely, uniting efficiency with gracefulness.
26. conies—mountain mice, or rabbits.
28. spider—tolerated, even in palaces, to destroy flies.
taketh … hands—or, uses with activity the limbs provided for taking prey.
32. As none can hope, successfully, to resist such a king, suppress even the thought of an attempt.
lay … hand upon thy mouth—"lay" is well supplied (Jud 18:19; Job 29:9; 40:4).
33. That is, strife—or other ills, as surely arise from devising evil as natural effects from natural causes.