World English Bible
- The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the revelation: the man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
- “Surely I am the most ignorant man, and don’t have a man’s understanding.
- I have not learned wisdom, neither do I have the knowledge of the Holy One.
- Who has ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if you know?
- “Every word of God is flawless. He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
- Don’t you add to his words, lest he reprove you, and you be found a liar.
- “Two things I have asked of you. Don’t deny me before I die.
- Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me,
- lest I be full, deny you, and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ or lest I be poor, and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
- “Don’t slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.
- There is a generation that curses their father, and doesn’t bless their mother.
- There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes, yet are not washed from their filthiness.
- There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes! Their eyelids are lifted up.
- There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and their jaws like knives, to devour the poor from the earth, and the needy from among men.
- “The leech has two daughters: ‘Give, give.’ “There are three things that are never satisfied; four that don’t say, ‘Enough!’:
- Sheol, the barren womb, the earth that is not satisfied with water, and the fire that doesn’t say, ‘Enough!’
- “The eye that mocks at his father, and scorns obedience to his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, the young eagles shall eat it.
- “There are three things which are too amazing for me, four which I don’t understand:
- The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the middle of the sea, and the way of a man with a maiden.
- “So is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’
- “For three things the earth trembles, and under four, it can’t bear up:
- For a servant when he is king, a fool when he is filled with food,
- for an unloved woman when she is married, and a servant who is heir to her mistress.
- “There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise:
- The ants are not a strong people, yet they provide their food in the summer.
- The hyraxes are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks.
- The locusts have no king, yet they advance in ranks.
- You can catch a lizard with your hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.
- “There are three things which are stately in their march, four which are stately in going:
- The lion, which is mightiest among animals, and doesn’t turn away for any;
- the greyhound; the male goat; and the king against whom there is no rising up.
- “If you have done foolishly in lifting up yourself, or if you have thought evil, put your hand over your mouth.
- For as the churning of milk produces butter, and the wringing of the nose produces blood, so the forcing of wrath produces strife.”
Proverbs 30
Agur enters Scripture without displaying credentials. He confesses ignorance. The Hebrew superscription may describe his words as an oracle, or possibly identify him with Massa, a northern Arabian people descended from Ishmael. If the latter is correct, Israel’s Scriptures preserve wisdom from an unexpected borderland voice. Yet Agur’s authority begins not in self-confidence, but in knowing the limits of human knowledge.
His questions about ascending to heaven, gathering the wind, and binding the waters are meant to humble us before the Creator. “What is his son’s name?” is not, in its first setting, a simple prediction placed there to solve. It intensifies the mystery: Can you name God and His household as though you had visited heaven?
Yet Christians cannot read it without hearing Christ’s words in John 3:13. The One whom Agur could not reach by wisdom has descended to us in grace. We do not discover God’s Son by climbing high enough; the Son comes down and makes the Father known.
A hidden thread runs through this chapter: mouths, hunger, devouring, and restraint. The leech cries, “Give, give.” The grave, barren womb, dry earth, and fire never say, “Enough.” The wicked have teeth like swords to consume the poor. The adulterer eats, wipes her mouth, and denies that anything happened. Sin is pictured as appetite without memory, limit, or gratitude.
Against this stands Agur’s remarkable prayer: neither poverty nor riches, but “the food that is needful for me.” The Hebrew suggests the bread of my appointed portion. It recalls Israel’s manna: enough for each day, but not enough to make dependence unnecessary. It also anticipates Christ’s teaching, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).
Agur does not romanticize poverty. Severe need can expose people to desperation, just as wealth can produce the illusion that God is unnecessary. Therefore, this prayer is also a challenge to the church: if we ask God for daily bread, we must not build a world in which our neighbor cannot obtain it. Contentment is not indifference to injustice. It is freedom from hoarding, joined to concern that everyone has enough.
Ancient sages often studied animals as living parables. Agur notices ants, locusts, the small rock-dwelling hyrax, and a lizard—or perhaps a gecko; the Hebrew is uncertain. None succeeds by pretending to be something else. The hyrax does not become strong; it makes the rock its refuge. The lizard remains catchable, yet enters palaces.
Biblical wisdom is not becoming invulnerable. It is learning where to dwell in our weakness. “Christ, the solid Rock, I stand” is not merely funeral language; it is the daily wisdom of the hyrax.
The chapter ends with a hand over the mouth. Before pressing anger until it bleeds into strife, stop. Holy restraint is the final answer to endless appetite.
Suggested cross-references: Deuteronomy 8:2–3; John
3:12–13; Matthew 6:9–13; Philippians 4:11–13; James 1:19–20
Suggested hymn: “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”
Father, deliver us from appetites that cannot say enough. Give us our appointed bread, make us generous toward those in need, and teach us to take refuge in Christ. Place wisdom in our weakness and restraint upon our lips. Amen.