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Christianity

Proverbs 30The Words of Agur

Summary

Proverbs 30 contains the words of Agur son of Jakeh, otherwise unknown. He begins with humility, confessing he lacks wisdom and asking who has ascended to heaven or gathered the wind. He affirms that every word of God is pure and warns against adding to it. His prayer asks for neither poverty nor riches. Then come numerical sayings: things never satisfied, four things too wonderful to understand, and four small but wise creatures, the ants, conies, locusts and spider.

Key verse

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

Proverbs 30:8

Themes

  • Humility
  • Contentment
  • Wonder at Creation
  • Sufficiency of God's Word

Text

1

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

2

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

3

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

4

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?

5

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

6

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

7

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

8

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

9

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.

Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.

Across traditions

  • Taoism

    Tao Te Ching 46: The Sufficiency of Contentment

    Laozi says there is no calamity greater than discontent and no fault greater than wanting more, and that contentment is lasting sufficiency. Agur's prayer in Proverbs 30:8 to 9 voices the same ideal, though out of concern for faithfulness to God.

  • Christianity

    Deuteronomy 4: Add Not to the Word

    Deuteronomy 4:2 commands Israel not to add to or take from God's word, the same warning Agur gives in Proverbs 30:6. Revelation 22:18 to 19 ends the Christian Bible with a similar caution.

Questions about Proverbs 30

Who was Agur in Proverbs 30?

Agur son of Jakeh is named only in Proverbs 30:1, and nothing else is known about him. Some Jewish tradition treated the name as a title for Solomon, while most scholars see a separate sage.

What does give me neither poverty nor riches mean?

In Proverbs 30:8 to 9 Agur asks for just enough, fearing that wealth might make him deny God and poverty might tempt him to steal and dishonor God's name.