the Week of Proper 21 / Ordinary 26
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New Living Translation
Proverbs 30:1
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Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle. The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle. The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
And the prophecie that the same man spake vnto Ithiel, euen vnto Ithiel and Uchal.
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; the prophecy uttered by the man unto Ithiel, [even] unto Ithiel and Ucal:
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel--to Ithiel and Ucal:
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the burden: The man spoke to Ithiel, even to Ithiel and Ucal, saying ,
These are the wise sayings of Agur son of Jakeh from Massa. He says, "God, I am tired, so tired. How can I keep going?"
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle: The man says to Ithiel, To Ithiel and Ucal:
The words of Agur the sonne of Iakeh, euen the prophecy: The man spake vnto Ithiel, euen vnto Ithiel and Ucal.
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
The wordes of Agur the sonne of Iake. The prophecie of a true faithfull man, who God hath helped, whom God hath coforted & norished.
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle: The man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ucal:
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; the oracle. The man saith unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, from Massa. The man says: I am full of weariness, O God, I am full of weariness; O God, I have come to an end:
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; The oracle. The [noble] man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, [even] the prophecy: the man spoke to Ithiel, even to Ithiel and Ucal,
The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh; an oracle: This man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ukal:
These are the sayings and the message of Agur son of Jakeh. Someone cries out to God, "I am completely worn out! How can I last?
The words of Agur the son of Yakeh, the prophecy. The man says to Iti'el, to Iti'el and Ukhal:
The prophecie which ye man spake vnto Ithiel, euen to Ithiel, and Vcal.
THESE are the words of Agur the son of Jakeh, who prophesied and received power, He said to Ithliel,
The words of Agur the son of Yakeh, the oracle: The man says to 'Iti'el, To 'Iti'el and Ucal:
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; the burden. The man saith unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh of Massa. The man says to Ithiel and Ucal:
The ungodly man flees when no one pursues: but the righteous is confident as a lion.
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; the oracle. The man saith unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
The words of Agur son of Jakeh-the oracle that this man declard to Ithiel: "I am weary, O God, and worn out.
The words of Agur son of Jakeh. An oracle. Thus says the man: I am weary, O God, I am weary, O God. How can I prevail?
The words of Agur, son of Jakeh, even the oracle, - The utterance of the man, for Ithiel, for Ithiel and Ucal.
The words of Gatherer the son of Vomiter. The vision which the man spoke, with whom God is, and who being strengthened by God, abiding with him, said:
The words of Agur, son of Yakeh, the oracle. Thus says the man to Ithiel, to Ithiel, and Ucal:
The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. The man declares, I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out.
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the pronouncement. The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh. This is his message to Ithiel and Ucal:
These are the solemn words of Agur son of Jakeh: "God is not with me, God is not with me, and I am helpless.
The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. The man's oration to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
The wordis of hym that gaderith, of the sone spuynge. The prophesie which a man spak, with whom God was, and which man was coumfortid bi God dwellyng with hym,
The words of Agur son of Jakeh of Massa. The man says to Ith'i-el, to Ith'i-el and Ucal:
Words of a Gatherer, son of an obedient one, the declaration, an affirmation of the man: -- I have wearied myself [for] God, I have wearied myself [for] God, and am consumed.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Agur: Agur was probably a public teacher, and Ithiel and Ucal, his pupils; and this was the massa, or oracle, which he delivered, not by his own wisdom, but by the Holy Spirit, for the benefit of man; and which, it is probable, was added by "the men of Hezekiah."
even: Proverbs 31:1, 2 Peter 1:19-21
Cross-References
When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive.
When Rachel saw that she wasn't having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, "Give me children, or I'll die!"
Then Rachel told him, "Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me, and through her I can have a family, too."
So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her.
Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, "I have struggled hard with my sister, and I'm winning!"
One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."
So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. "You must come and sleep with me tonight!" she said. "I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found." So that night he slept with Leah.
She named him Issachar, for she said, "God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife."
Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob.
She named him Zebulun, for she said, "God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons."
Gill's Notes on the Bible
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh,.... Here begins, according to Aben Ezra, the fourth part of this book; though, according to others, it is the fifth; :-; Who this Agur was is a matter of doubt; some of the Jewish writers, as Jarchi and Gersom, and likewise some Christian writers f, take him to be Solomon himself, who calls himself Agur, which is said to signify "a gatherer"; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "the words of the gatherer, the son of the vomiter"; just as he calls himself Koheleth, or "the caller", or "preacher", Ecclesiastes 1:1. The reason given of this name is, because he gathered wisdom and the law g; or, as Jarchi, he gathered wisdom, and vomited it; that is, delivered it out to others; so he did, he sought after and attained to more wisdom than any before him, for he was wiser than all men; and it may be added, that he "gathered" silver and gold, and the treasure of kings, and increased in riches more than any before him, Ecclesiastes 1:13. But then all this does not agree with the person whose words these are; for he speaks of himself as being very ignorant, and as not having learned wisdom, Proverbs 30:2; and desires neither poverty nor riches, Proverbs 30:8; besides, the word "Agur" signifies not "a gatherer", but "gathered", as Hillerus h renders it; and so Cocceius, who thinks also that Solomon is meant, yet not for the above reasons, but translates the clause thus, "the words of the recollected son of the obedient"; as if it described Solomon the son of David, the obedient one, the man after God's own heart, when he was restored by repentance; but it seems better, with Aben Ezra, to understand this of some very good, knowing, and worthy man, who lived in those times, either before the times of Solomon, or in the same, whose pithy sayings and sentences he had a great regard for, and joined them to his own; or who lived in the times of Hezekiah, or before, whose proverbs were collected by his men, and added to those of Solomon's they had copied in the preceding chapters; see Proverbs 25:1;
[even] the prophecy; or "burden" i, as many of the prophecies are called; it designs something received from the Lord, taken up and carried to others; so Balaam is said to "take up his parable",
Numbers 23:7. Here it does not design a prediction of future events, unless it can be thought that there is in the following words a prophecy of the Messiah; but an instruction, a declaration of things useful and profitable; so preaching in the New Testament is called prophesying often, 1 Corinthians 14:1. This is a part of the word of God, of the prophecy which came not by the will of man, but by the inspiration of God, 2 Peter 1:19; which prophecy
the man spake, this excellent good man Agur, who was divinely inspired; see Numbers 24:3;
unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal; who were either the children of Agur, whom he instructed in the knowledge of divine things; or they were, as Aben Ezra, either his companions with whom he conversed about sacred things, or his disciples who inquired of him about these things, and learned them of him. Some think k these are titles of God himself, to whom Agur directs his speech, and acknowledges his ignorance of the divine Being, whom he might justly call Ithiel and Ucal, that is, "God with me", and "the mighty One"; and certain it is that Agur does direct a prayer to God, Proverbs 30:7; And some read these words themselves as a prayer, "let God be with me, and one shall prevail" l, that is, over all mine enemies; for, if God is on the side of his people, who shall be against them? or, "I shall be able" to do all things through the Lord's strength, Romans 8:31; But I rather think the words should be read, as Jarchi observes, "concerning Ithiel and Ucal" m; that is, concerning the Messiah, to whom these names agree. Ithiel, or "God with me", is very similar to a phrase used by Christ himself in the days of his flesh, John 8:29. God was with him as the eternal Word, and his only begotten Son, from all eternity, which denotes his co-existence, nearness of union, equality of nature, and distinction of persons; he was with him as Mediator before the world began, in the council of peace, which was between them both; in the covenant of grace made with him, in which all things were agreed upon respecting the salvation of his people; he was with him in the beginning of time down to his incarnation; he was with him in the creation of all things, in the sustentation of them; in the works of providence, and in the government of the church; he was with him during his state of humiliation; in his infancy, to protect him from the malice of Herod; he was with him when disputing with the doctors in the temple, to direct him; he was with him at his baptism, transfiguration, and other times; he was with him throughout his public ministry, from the beginning to the end of it; he did good and healed all manner of diseases, and wrought amazing miracles, God being with him, John 3:2
Acts 10:38; and he was with him in his sufferings and at his death; and so he is with him in his exalted state; he raised him from the dead, set him at his own right hand, and ever attends to his prevalent intercession; and will be with him in raising the dead and judging the world. "Ucal", which has the signification of being able, strong, mighty, and powerful, agrees with Christ, who is the mighty God the most mighty, the Almighty; and which appears by the works he did before his incarnation, as the creation of all things out of nothing, the preservation of all things, and the several wonderful events in which he was; concerned, as the confusion of languages, the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah, the conducting the children of Israel through the wilderness, with others; also what he did when here on earth, the mighty works and miracles done by him, and especially the great work of man's redemption, and also the raising of himself from the dead: moreover, what he now does and will do for his people show him to be the mighty One; taking the care of all the churches and providing for them; supplying all the wants of his people, bearing all their burdens, supporting them under all their temptations, and delivering them out of them; strengthening them for his service, protecting them from their enemies, keeping them from falling, raising their dead bodies, and bringing all the sons of God to glory: or if the word should be rendered, as it may, "eaten" or "consumed" n, it is true of Christ, whose zeal ate him up, Psalms 69:9; and who is the antitype of the sacrifice consumed by fire.
f De Dieu, Cocceius, Teelman. Specimen. Explicat. Parabot. p. 378. g Jelammedenu apud Buxtorf. Lex. Rab. col. 26. h Onomastic. Sacr. p. 39. i המשא "onus", Mercerus; "prophetia gravis", Tigurine version. k Jermin in loc. l See Trapp in loc. m So Junius & Tremellius, Aamama, Calovius, Cartwright. n Vid. Teelman. Specimen. Expliicat. Parabol. p. 391.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
See the introduction to Proverbs. According to the different reading, there noted, the inscription ends with: “the man spake,” and the words that follow, are the beginning of the confession, “I have wearied myself after God and have fainted.”
Spake - The Hebrew word is that commonly used of the utterance of a divine oracle.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
CHAPTER XXX
Agur's confession of faith, 1-6.
His prayer, 7-9.
Of wicked generations, 10-14.
Things that are never satisfied, 15, 16.
Of him who despises his parents, 17.
Three wonderful things, 18-20.
Three things that disquiet the land, 21-23.
Four little but very intelligent animals, 24-28.
Four things that go well, 29-31.
A man should cease from doing foolishly, and from strife,
32, 33.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXX
Verse Proverbs 30:1. The words of Agur the son of Jakeh — The words Agur, Jakeh, Ithiel, and Ucal, have been considered by some as proper names: by others, as descriptive characters. With some, Agur is Solomon; and Jakeh, David; and Ithiel and Ucal are epithets of Christ.
The Vulgate translates, Verba congregantis filii vomentis: visio, quam locutus est sir, cum quo est Deus, et qui Deo secum morante confortatus, ait. "The words of the collector, the son of the vomiter: the vision of the man who has God with him, and who is fortified by God dwelling with him, saith."
COVERDALE makes the following words a title to the chapter:
"The wordes of Agur the sonne of Jake.
"The prophecie of a true faithfull man, whom God hath helped; whom God hath comforted and nourished."
The whole might be thus translated, keeping near to the letter: -
"The words of the epistle of the obedient son." Or,
"The words of the collector, the son of Jakeh. The parable which הגבר haggeber, the strong man, the hero, spake unto him who is God with me; to him who is God with me, even the strong God."
The visioun that a man spake with whiche is God, and that God with him, wonyng confortid.-Old MS. Bible.
From this introduction, from the names here used, and from the style of the book, it appears evident that Solomon was not the author of this chapter; and that it was designed to be distinguished from his work by this very preface, which specifically distinguishes it from the preceding work. Nor can the words in Proverbs 30:2-3; Proverbs 30:8-9, be at all applied to Solomon: they suit no part of Solomon's life, nor of his circumstances. We must, therefore, consider it an appendix or supplement to the preceding collection; something in the manner of that part which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, had collected. As to mysteries here, many have been found by them who sought for nothing else; but they are all, in my view of the subject, hazarded and precarious. I believe Agur, Jakeh, Ithiel, and Ucal, to be the names of persons who did exist, but of whom we know nothing but what is here mentioned. Agur seems to have been a public teacher, and Ithiel and Ucal to have been his scholars; and what he delivers to them was done by prophesy. It was what the prophets generally term massa, an ORACLE, something immediately delivered by the Holy Spirit for the benefit of man.
