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 30,9 Spr 30,9
And it shall be, when Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee, great and goodly cities, which thou buildest not,
and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and cisterns hewn out, which thou hewedst not, vineyards and olive-trees, which thou plantedst not, and thou shalt eat and be full;
then beware lest thou forget Jehovah, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
And Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah, that I should hearken unto his voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and moreover I will not let Israel go.
Men do not despise a thief, if he stealTo satisfy {Or, his appetite}himself when he is hungry:
Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul;He heareth the adjuration and uttereth nothing.
And thou shalt eat and be full, and thou shalt bless Jehovah thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
Beware lest thou forget Jehovah thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his ordinances, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:
lest, when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;
then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget Jehovah thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;
Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you after this manner, neither believe ye him; for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of my hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your {Or, gods}God deliver you out of my hand?
And his servants spake yet more against Jehovah God, and against his servant Hezekiah.
He wrote also {Or, a letter}letters, to rail on Jehovah, the God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the nations of the lands, which have not delivered their people out of my hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of my hand.
But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold;He shall give all the substance of his house.
Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God {Or, for vanity (or, falsehood)}in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name {Or, for vanity (or, falsehood)}in vain.
For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxed fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant.
For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous;That the righteous put not forth their hands unto iniquity.
And if any one sin, in that he heareth the voice of adjuration, he being a witness, whether he hath seen or known, if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity.
But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked:Thou art waxed fat, thou art grown thick, thou art become sleek;Then he forsook God who made him,And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
And again he denied with an oath, I know not the man.
And they took fortified cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns hewn out, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit-trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.
Then began he to curse and to swear, I know not the man. And straightway the cock crew.
Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their back, and slew thy prophets that testified against them to turn them again unto thee, and they wrought great provocations.
If I have made gold my hope,And have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;
If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,And because my hand had gotten much;
If I have beheld {Hebrew: the light.}the sun when it shined,Or the moon walking in brightness,
And my heart hath been secretly enticed,And {Hebrew: my hand hath kissed my mouth.}my mouth hath kissed my hand:
This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges;For I should have denied the God that is above.
O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? or a land of {Or, darkness of Jah}thick darkness? wherefore say my people, We are broken loose; we will come no more unto thee?
And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.
But thou didst trust in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by; his it was.
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away {Or, when I saw it}as I saw good.
The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the {Or, matter}demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the lowest of men.
The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?
According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they forgotten me.
And the people shouted, saying, The voice of a god, and not of a man.
And immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.