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A lone man seen from behind, small on a bare ridge, his cloak pulled by a strong wind and the grass bent flat around him, under a wide empty sky.

Agur

Proverbs 30

The wisest thing you say this week may be: I don’t know.

33 verses≈ 5 min1 personBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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In this chapter

Where we are

  1. 1–7The father's talksWhy the book exists, then a father to his son
  2. 8–9Wisdom callsHer house and Folly's
  3. 10–22:16Solomon's sayingsTwo lines at a time
  4. 22:17–24The sayings of the wiseThirty sayings, and a few more
  5. 25–29Hezekiah's collectionMore of Solomon, copied out later
  6. 30AgurNumbered sayings from a weary manChapter 30
  7. 31LemuelA mother's words, and the noble wife

The Words of Agur

Agur

These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh—the burden that this man declared to Ithiel:

“I am weary, O God,

and worn out.

Surely I am the most ignorant of men,

and I lack the understanding of a man.

I have not learned wisdom,

and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.

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Agur

Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth?

Agur

What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—

surely you know!

Agur

Every word of God is flawless;

He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

Proverbs 30:5

Agur
Agur

Do not add to His words,

lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.

Reflect

Take it home

Where do you need to say ‘I don’t know’ to God?

Agur
One flat loaf on a worn wooden board on a low stone ledge in a small plain room, beside a clay lamp and a wooden bowl of water.

Two things I ask of You—

do not refuse me before I die:

Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.

Give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with the bread that is my portion.

Otherwise, I may have too much

and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’

Or I may become poor and steal,

profaning the name of my God.

0:23

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Agur

Do not slander a servant to his master,

or he will curse you, and you will bear the guilt.

Agur

A generation

There is a generation

  1. Family

    Who curse their fathers

    There is a generation of those who curse their fathers

    and do not bless their mothers.

  2. Pride

    Pure in their own eyes

    There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes

    and yet unwashed of their filth.

  3. How haughty their eyes

    There is a generation—how haughty are their eyes

    and pretentious are their glances—

  4. Justice

    Teeth like swords

    there is a generation whose teeth are swords

    and whose jaws are knives,

    devouring the oppressed from the earth

    and the needy from among men.

Agur
Agur

The leech has two daughters:

Give and Give.

There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’:

Sheol,

the barren womb,

land never satisfied with water,

and fire that never says, ‘Enough!’

Agur

As for the eye that mocks a father

and scorns obedience to a mother,

may the ravens of the valley pluck it out

and young vultures devour it.

Three things, four things

Three, thenfourAgur’s way of countingNever satisfied15–16Too wonderful18–19The earthtrembles21–23Small yet wise24–28Stately instride29–31

Whiteboard

The list climbs to the last thing named, and it is usually the point.

Question

Quick question

Agur has just given his first count. Go back to 15–16 and try it.

According to 30:15–16, how many things never say ‘Enough!’?

Agur
A slim desert snake in mid-curve on a sun-warmed limestone slab, with no track behind it on the bare stone.

There are three things too wonderful for me, four that I cannot understand:

the way of an eagle in the sky,

the way of a snake on a rock,

the way of a ship at sea,

and the way of a man with a maiden.

Agur

This is the way of an adulteress:

She eats and wipes her mouth

and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’

Agur

Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up: a servant who becomes king, a fool who is filled with food, an unloved woman who marries, and a maidservant who supplants her mistress.

Agur
Agur
Agur

There are three things that are stately in their stride, and four that are impressive in their walk:

a lion, mighty among beasts, refusing to retreat before anything;

a strutting rooster;

a he-goat;

and a king with his army around him.

Pray

Say it to Him

God, I don’t know as much as I act like I do. Give me enough today, and teach me to be content with it. Keep me from lying, and let me take refuge in every word of Yours.

Agur
A goatskin churn slung from a wooden tripod in a courtyard, a woman’s sleeved arms pushing it, curds on a clay dish beside it.

If you have foolishly exalted yourself

or if you have plotted evil,

put your hand over your mouth.

For as the churning of milk yields butter,

and the twisting of the nose draws blood,

so the stirring of anger brings forth strife.”

You’ve experienced

Proverbs 30

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A verse to carry with you

Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

Proverbs 30:5

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