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 30,4 Spr 30,4
It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it?
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?Declare, {Hebrew: if thou knowest understanding.}if thou hast understanding.
Who determined the measures thereof, {Or, seeing}if thou knowest?Or who stretched the line upon it?
Whereupon were the {Hebrew: sockets.}foundations thereof {Hebrew: made to sink.}fastened?Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,
When the morning stars sang together,And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Or who shut up the sea with doors,When it brake forth, {Or, and issued}as if it had issued out of the womb;
When I made clouds the garment thereof,And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,
And {Hebrew: brake.}marked out for it my bound,And set bars and doors,
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further;And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began,And caused the dayspring to know its place;
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,And the wicked be shaken out of it?
It is changed as clay under the seal;And all things stand forth {Or, as in a garment}as a garment:
And from the wicked their light is withholden,And the high arm is broken.
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?Or hast thou walked in the {Or, search}recesses of the deep?
Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee?Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth?Declare, if thou knowest it all.
Where is the way to the dwelling of light?And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof,And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?
Doubtless, thou knowest, for thou wast then born,And the number of thy days is great!
Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow,Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
Which I have reserved against the time of trouble,Against the day of battle and war?
{Or, Which is the way to the place where the light is &c.}By what way is the light parted,Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?
Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood,Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;
To cause it to rain on a land where no man is;On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
To satisfy the waste and desolate ground,And to cause the {Or, greensward}tender grass to spring forth?
Hath the rain a father?Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
Out of whose womb came the ice?And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath {Or, given it birth}gendered it?
The waters {Or, are congealed like stone}hide themselves and become like stone,And the face of the deep {Hebrew: cohereth.}is frozen.
Canst thou bind the {Or, chain Or, sweet influences}cluster of the Pleiades,Or loose the bands of Orion?
Canst thou lead forth {Or, the signs of the Zodiac}the Mazzaroth in their season?Or canst thou guide the Bear with her {Hebrew: sons.}train?
Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens?Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds,That abundance of waters may cover thee?
Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go,And say unto thee, Here we are?
Who hath put wisdom in the {Or, dark clouds}inward parts?Or who hath given understanding to the {Or, meteor}mind?
Who can number the clouds by wisdom?Or who can {Hebrew: cause to lie down.}pour out the bottles of heaven,
When the dust runneth into a mass,And the clods cleave fast together?
Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness,Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
When they couch in their dens,And abide in the covert to lie in wait?
Who provideth for the raven his prey,When his young ones cry unto God, And wander for lack of food?
And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them?
And God said unto Moses, {Or, I AM, BECAUSE I AM Or, I AM WHO AM Or, I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE}I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, {Hebrew: Ehueh. From the same root as Jehovah.}I AM hath sent me unto you.
And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, {Many ancient authorities omit who is in heaven.}who is in heaven.
Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment;Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain;
Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters;Who maketh the clouds his chariot;Who walketh upon the wings of the wind;
Who maketh {Or, his angels winds}winds his messengers;Flames of fire his ministers;
{Hebrew: He founded the earth upon its bases.}Who laid the foundations of the earth,That it should not be moved for ever.
Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a vesture;The waters stood above the mountains.
At thy rebuke they fled;At the voice of thy thunder they hasted away
{Or, They went up by the mountains, they went down by the valleys}(The mountains rose, the valleys sank down)Unto the place which thou hadst founded for them.
Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over;That they turn not again to cover the earth.
He sendeth forth springs into the valleys;They run among the mountains;
They give drink to every beast of the field;The wild asses quench their thirst.
By them the birds of the heavens have their habitation;They {Hebrew: utter their voice.}sing among the branches.
He watereth the mountains from his chambers:The earth is filled with the fruit of thy works.
He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle,And herb for the {Or, labor}service of man;That he may bring forth {Hebrew: bread.}food out of the earth,
And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, {Hebrew: To make his face to shine with oil.}And oil to make his face to shine,And bread that strengtheneth man's heart.
The trees of Jehovah are filled with moisture,The cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
Where the birds make their nests:As for the stork, the fir-trees are her house.
The high mountains are for the wild goats;The rocks are a refuge for the conies.
He appointed the moon for seasons:The sun knoweth his going down.
Thou makest darkness, and it is night,Wherein all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
The young lions roar after their prey,And seek their food from God.
The sun ariseth, they get them away,And lay them down in their dens.
Man goeth forth unto his workAnd to his labor until the evening.
O Jehovah, how manifold are thy works!In wisdom hast thou made them all:The earth is full of thy {Or, creatures}riches.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,Wherein are things creeping innumerable,Both small and great beasts.
There go the ships;There is leviathan, whom thou hast formed to play {Or, with him See Job 41:5.}therein.
These wait all for thee,That thou mayest give them their food in due season.
Thou givest unto them, they gather;Thou openest thy hand, they are satisfied with good.
Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled;Thou {Or, gatherest in}takest away their breath, they die,And return to their dust.
Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created;And thou renewest the face of the ground.
Let the glory of Jehovah endure for ever;Let Jehovah rejoice in his works:
Who looketh on the earth, and it trembleth;He toucheth the mountains, and they smoke.
I will sing unto Jehovah as long as I live:I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.
Let thy meditation be sweet unto him:I will rejoice in Jehovah.
Let sinners be consumed out of the earth.And let the wicked be no more.Bless Jehovah, O my soul. {Hebrew: Hallelujah.}Praise ye Jehovah.
and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as {Hebrew: El Shaddai.}God Almighty; but {Or, as to}by my name Jehovah I was not {Or, made known}known to them.
And the angel of Jehovah said unto him, Wherefore askest thou after my name, seeing it is {Or, secret}wonderful?
But the righteousness which is of faith saith thus, {Deuteronomy 30:12 f.}Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down:)
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
Who hath {Or, meted out}directed the Spirit of Jehovah, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance: behold, {Or, the isles are as the fine dust that is lifted up}he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering.
All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as {Or, as a thing of nought}less than nothing, and {Or, confusion}vanity.
To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
The image, a workman hath cast it, and the goldsmith overlayeth it with gold, and casteth for it silver chains.
He that is too impoverished for such an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilful workman to {Or, prepare}set up a graven image, that shall not be moved.
Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not {Or, understood the foundations}understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as {Or, gauze}a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
that bringeth princes to nothing; that maketh the judges of the earth as {Or, confusion}vanity.
{Or, Scarce are they planted, scarce are they sown, scarce hath their stock taken root in the earth, when he bloweth upon them &c.}Yea, they have not been planted; yea, they have not been sown; yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth: moreover he bloweth upon them, and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.
To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him? saith the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high, {Or, and see: who hath created these? he that &c.}and see who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and for that he is strong in power, not one is lacking.
Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and the justice due to me is passed away from my God?
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? {Or, Jehovah is an everylasting God, the Creator…he fainteth not &c.}The everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding.
He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
but they that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.
And Jehovah descended in the cloud, {Or, and he stood with him there, and called upon &c.}and stood with him there, and proclaimed {Or, Jehovah by name}the name of Jehovah.
And Jehovah passed by before him, and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth;
keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.
I will tell of the decree:Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my son;This day have I begotten thee.
(Now this, He ascended, what is it but that he also descended {Some ancient authorities insert first.}into the lower parts of the earth?
{Or, From}By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who among them considered that he was cut off out of the land of the {Or, living? for the transgression of my people was he stricken}living for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due?
If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, JEHOVAH THY GOD;
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, {Or, the}a {Or, maiden}virgin {Or, is with child, and beareth}shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name {That is, God is with us.}Immanuel.
He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called {Or, Wonderful counsellor}Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, {Hebrew: Father of Eternity.}Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called: {Or, Jehovah is our righteousness}Jehovah our righteousness.
And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins.
Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
{Isaiah 7:14}Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son,And they shall call his name {Greek: Emmanuel.}Immanuel;which is, being interpreted, God with us.
All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him.
All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth who the Son is, save the Father; and who the Father is, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him.