Agur Speaks about God
[To God]
This man’s declaration:
“I’m weary, O El.
I’m weary and worn out, O El.
2 I’m more like a dumb animal than a human being.
I don’t even have human understanding.
3 I haven’t learned wisdom.
I don’t have knowledge of the Holy One.[a]
[To the audience]
4 “Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in the palm of his hand?
Who has wrapped water in a garment?
Who has set up the earth from one end to the other?
What is his name or the name of his son?
Certainly, you must know!
5 “Every word of Eloah has proven to be true.
He is a Magen to those who come to him for protection.
6 Do not add to his words,
or he will reprimand you, and you will be found to be a liar.
> Agur prays declaring that he is weary and his lack of wisdom. He makes a lot of questions to show things that he doesn't understand. It seems that he is asking the Lord to reveal Jesus.
A Prayer
[To God]
7 “I’ve asked you for two things.
Don’t keep them from me before I die:
8 Keep vanity and lies far away from me.
Don’t give me either poverty or riches.
Feed me only the food I need,
9 or I may feel satisfied and deny you
and say, ‘Who is Yahweh?’
or I may become poor and steal
and give the name of my Elohim a bad reputation.
> Agur asks two things to the Lord: to focus on what is important and to be satisfied with the food that is necessary to him (not too much, not too little).
Against Slander
[To the audience]
10 “Do not slander a slave to his master.
The slave will curse you,
and you will be found guilty.”
> In the MSG we read: Don’t blow the whistle on your fellow workers behind their backs; They’ll accuse you of being underhanded, and then you’ll be the guilty one!
Four Kinds of People
11 A certain kind of person curses his father
and does not bless his mother.
12 A certain kind of person thinks he is pure
but is not washed from his own feces.[b]
13 A certain kind of person looks around arrogantly
and is conceited.
14 A certain kind of person,
whose teeth are like swords
and whose jaws are like knives,
devours oppressed people from the earth
and people from among humanity.
> Four kinds of people that displeases the Lord. It is very difficult that a person who sees himself as pure but full of his own feces will come closer to the Lord, but the Lord may change his heart.
Human Bloodsuckers
15 The bloodsucking leech has two daughters—“Give!” and “Give!”
Four Things That Are Never Satisfied
Three things are never satisfied.
Four never say, “Enough!”:
16 the grave,
a barren womb,
a land that never gets enough water,
a fire that does not say, “Enough!”
> It is impossible that a sinner finds satisfaction in his sins.
Disrespectful Children—Their Punishment
17 The eye that makes fun of a father and hates to obey a mother
will be plucked out by ravens in the valley and eaten by young vultures.
Four Things of Intrigue
18 Three things are too amazing to me,
even four that I cannot understand:
19 an eagle making its way through the sky,
a snake making its way over a rock,
a ship making its way through high seas,
a man making his way with a virgin.
About the Woman Who Commits Adultery
20 This is the way of a woman who commits adultery:
She eats, wipes her mouth,
and says, “I haven’t done anything wrong!”
Four Things That Are Intolerable
21 Three things cause the earth to tremble,
even four it cannot bear up under:
22 a slave when he becomes king,
a godless fool when he is filled with food,
23 a woman who is unloved when she gets married,
a maid when she replaces her mistress.
Four Things That Are Small—Yet Smart and Strong
24 Four things on earth are small,
yet they are very wise:
25 Ants are not a strong species,
yet they store their food in summer.
26 Rock badgers are not a mighty species,
yet they make their home in the rocks.
27 Locusts have no king,
yet all of them divide into swarms by instinct.
28 A lizard you can hold in your hands,
yet it can even be found in royal palaces.
Four Things That Move with Dignity
29 There are three things that walk with dignity,
even four that march with dignity:
30 a lion, mightiest among animals, which turns away from nothing,
31 a strutting rooster,[c]
a male goat,
a king at the head of his army.[d]
> Agur is observing the Lord's creation. He notices many interesting things. He sees some wisdom even in a small ant and he notices foolishness in a woman who commits adultery.
Keep Calm and Quiet
32 If you are such a godless fool as to honor yourself,
or if you scheme,
you had better put your hand over your mouth.
33 As churning milk produces butter
and punching a nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger[e] produces a fight.
> Agur invites the reader that is behaving as a godless fool to be quiet
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