The words of Agur the son of {Or, Jakeh, of Massa See Genesis 25:14.}Jakeh; the {Or, burden}oracle.
The man saith {Or, as otherwise read, I have wearied myself, O God, I have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed: For I am &c.}unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
Surely I am more brutish than any man,
And have not the understanding of a man;
And I have not learned wisdom,
{Or, That I should have the knowledge &c.}Neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One.
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?
Every word of God is {Hebrew: purified.}tried:
He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him.
Add thou not unto his words,
Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Two things have I asked of thee;
Deny me them not before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lies;
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with {Hebrew: the bread of my portion.}the food that is needful for me:
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is Jehovah?
Or lest I be poor, and steal,
And {Hebrew: handle the name.}use profanely the name of my God.
Slander not a servant unto his master,
Lest he curse thee, and thou be held guilty.
There is a generation that curse their father,
And bless not their mother.
There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes,
And yet are not washed from their filthiness.
There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids are lifted up.
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.
The {Or, vampire}horseleach hath two daughters, {Or, called}crying, Give, give.
There are three things that are never satisfied,
Yea, four that say not, Enough:
Sheol; and the barren womb;
The earth that is not satisfied with water;
And the fire that saith not, Enough.
The eye that mocketh at his father,
And despiseth to obey his mother,
The ravens of {Or, the brook}the valley shall pick it out,
And the {Or, vultures}young eagles shall eat it.
There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Yea, four which I know not:
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.
So is the way of an adulterous woman;
She eateth, and wipeth her mouth,
And saith, I have done no wickedness.
{Hebrew: Under.}For three things the earth doth tremble,
And for four, which it cannot bear:
For a servant when he is king;
And a fool when he is filled with food;
For an odious woman when she is married;
And a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
There are four things which are little upon the earth,
But they are exceeding wise:
The ants are a people not strong,
Yet they provide their food in the summer;
The conies are but a feeble folk,
Yet make they their houses in the rocks;
The locusts have no king,
Yet go they forth all of them by bands;
The lizard {Or, thou canst seize with thy hands}taketh hold with her hands,
Yet is she in kings' palaces.
There are three things which are stately in their march,
Yea, four which are stately in going:
The lion, which is mightiest among beasts,
And turneth not away for any;
The {Or, war-horse Hebrew: well girt (or, well knit) in the loins.}greyhound; the he-goat also;
And the king {Or, when his army is with him}against whom there is no rising up.
If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself,
Or if thou hast thought evil,
Lay thy hand upon thy mouth.
For the {Hebrew: pressing.}churning of milk bringeth forth butter,
And the {Hebrew: pressing.}wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood;
So the {Hebrew: pressing.}forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
Querverweise zu Sprüche 30,2 Spr 30,2
Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge?Therefore have I uttered that which I understood not,Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak;I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear;But now mine eye seeth thee:
Wherefore I {Or, loathe my words}abhor myself,And repent in dust and ashes.
And say, How have I hated instruction,And my heart despised reproof;
So brutish {Or, am}was I, and ignorant;I was as a beast {Hebrew: with thee.}before thee.
A brutish man knoweth not;Neither doth a fool understand this:
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.
Every man {Or, is too brutish to know}is become brutish and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in;
But these, as creatures without reason, born {Greek: natural.}mere animals {Or, to take and to destroy}to be taken and destroyed, railing in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their {Or, corruption Compare 1 Timothy 6:9.}destroying surely be destroyed,
suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; men that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their {Some ancient authorities read love-feasts. Compare Jude 12.}deceivings while they feast with you;
having eyes full of {Greek: an adulteress.}adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing unstedfast souls; having a heart exercised in covetousness; children of cursing;
forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of {Many ancient authorities read Bosor.}Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing;
but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a dumb ass spake with man's voice and stayed the madness of the prophet.
Let no man deceive himself. If any man thinketh that he is wise among you in this {Or, age}world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.
If any man thinketh that he knoweth anything, he knoweth not yet as he ought to know;
But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.