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Tuesday, October 1st, 2024
the Week of Proper 21 / Ordinary 26
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New Living Translation

Proverbs 30:8

First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Blessing;   Contentment;   Covetousness;   Food;   Poverty;   Riches;   Vanity;   Thompson Chain Reference - Poverty;   Poverty-Riches;   Prayer;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Contentment;   Lying;   Prayer;   Riches;   Vanity;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Proverb, the Book of;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Poor;   Steal;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Bread, Bread of Presence;   Wealth;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Agur;   Jakeh;   Lord's Prayer;   Massa;   Prayer;   Proverbs, Book of;   Vanity;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Lord's Prayer (I);   Lord's Prayer (Ii);  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Agur;   Convenient;   Poverty;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Lord's Prayer, the;  

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for October 23;  

Parallel Translations

Legacy Standard Bible
Keep worthlessness and every false word far from me,Give me neither poverty nor riches;Feed me with the food that is my portion,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Remoue farre fro me vanitie and lyes, geue me neither pouertie nor riches, only graunt me a necessary lyuyng:
Darby Translation
Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread of my daily need:
New King James Version
Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches-- Feed me with the food allotted to me;
Literal Translation
Remove vanity and a lying word far from me, do not give me poverty or riches; tear for me my portion of bread,
Easy-to-Read Version
Don't let me tell lies. And don't make me too rich or too poor—give me only enough food for each day.
World English Bible
Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me;
King James Version (1611)
Remoue farre from mee vanity, and lyes; giue me neither pouerty, nor riches, feede me with food conuenient for me.
King James Version
Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Remoue fro me vanite and lyes: geue me nether pouerte ner riches, only graunte me a necessary lyuynge.
Amplified Bible
Keep deception and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,
American Standard Version
Remove far from me falsehood and lies; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is needful for me:
Bible in Basic English
Put far from me all false and foolish things: do not give me great wealth or let me be in need, but give me only enough food:
Update Bible Version
Remove far from me falsehood and lies; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is needful for me:
Webster's Bible Translation
Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
New English Translation
Remove falsehood and lies far from me; do not give me poverty or riches, feed me with my allotted portion of bread,
Contemporary English Version
Make me absolutely honest and don't let me be too poor or too rich. Give me just what I need.
Complete Jewish Bible
keep falsehood and futility far from me, and give me neither poverty nor wealth. Yes, provide just the food I need today;
Geneva Bible (1587)
Remooue farre from me vanitie and lyes: giue me not pouertie, nor riches: feede me with foode conuenient for me,
George Lamsa Translation
Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; give me life sufficient
Hebrew Names Version
Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me;
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Remove far from me falsehood and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches;
New Life Bible
Take lies and what is false far from me. Do not let me be poor or rich. Feed me with the food that I need.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
He that increases his wealth by usuries and unjust gains, gathers it for him that pities the poor.
English Revised Version
Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me:
Berean Standard Bible
Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.
New Revised Standard
Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Vanity and falsehood, remove far from me, Neither poverty nor riches, give me, Feed me with the food appointed me:
Douay-Rheims Bible
Remove far from me vanity, and lying words. Give me neither beggary, nor riches: give me only the necessaries of life:
Lexham English Bible
Keep falsehood and a lying word far from me; do not give me poverty or wealth; provide me with food only for my need.
English Standard Version
Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,
New American Standard Bible
Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,
New Century Version
Keep me from lying and being dishonest. And don't make me either rich or poor; just give me enough food for each day.
Good News Translation
keep me from lying, and let me be neither rich nor poor. So give me only as much food as I need.
Christian Standard Bible®
Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Make thou fer fro me vanyte and wordis of leesyng; yyue thou not to me beggery and richessis; yyue thou oneli necessaries to my lijflode;
Revised Standard Version
Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,
Young's Literal Translation
Vanity and a lying word put far from me, Poverty or wealth give not to me, Cause me to eat the bread of my portion,

Contextual Overview

7 O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die. 8 First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. 9 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, "Who is the Lord ?" And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God's holy name.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Remove: Proverbs 21:6, Proverbs 22:8, Proverbs 23:5, Psalms 62:9, Psalms 62:10, Psalms 119:29, Psalms 119:37, Ecclesiastes 1:2, Isaiah 5:18, Isaiah 59:4, John 2:8, Acts 14:15

feed: Genesis 28:20, Genesis 48:15, Genesis 48:16, Exodus 16:15, Exodus 16:18, Exodus 16:21, Exodus 16:22, Exodus 16:29, Exodus 16:35, Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:33, Luke 11:3, 1 Timothy 6:6-8

convenient for me: Heb. of my allowance, 2 Kings 25:30, Jeremiah 37:21, Jeremiah 52:34

Reciprocal: Genesis 27:24 - I am Exodus 16:4 - a certain rate every day Deuteronomy 6:11 - when thou Deuteronomy 17:17 - neither shall he Ruth 1:6 - in giving 1 Chronicles 4:10 - that thou Psalms 10:7 - vanity Psalms 119:163 - hate Proverbs 13:5 - righteous Proverbs 27:27 - enough Matthew 6:13 - lead Matthew 19:23 - That Luke 22:40 - Pray 1 Timothy 6:8 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 23:6
"Listen, my lord, you are an honored prince among us. Choose the finest of our tombs and bury her there. No one here will refuse to help you in this way."
Genesis 30:24
And she named him Joseph, for she said, "May the Lord add yet another son to my family."
Genesis 30:25
Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Please release me so I can go home to my own country.
Genesis 35:25
The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant, were Dan and Naphtali.
Genesis 46:24
The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
Genesis 49:21
"Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
Exodus 9:28
Please beg the Lord to end this terrifying thunder and hail. We've had enough. I will let you go; you don't need to stay any longer."
Deuteronomy 33:23
Moses said this about the tribe of Naphtali: "O Naphtali, you are rich in favor and full of the Lord 's blessings; may you possess the west and the south."
1 Samuel 14:15
Suddenly, panic broke out in the Philistine army, both in the camp and in the field, including even the outposts and raiding parties. And just then an earthquake struck, and everyone was terrified.
Matthew 4:13
He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Remove far from me vanity and lies,.... This is the "first" request, to be preserved from sin, in general; which is a vain, lying, and deceitful thing; promising pleasure, profit, liberty, and impunity, which it does not give. Agur desires to have vain thoughts removed out of his mind, vain words from his mouth, and vain actions from his life and conversation; to have his eyes turned from beholding vanity, and his feet from walking in it; and his affections taken off from the vain things of the world, the lusts, pleasures, profits, and honours of it; as well as to be kept from all errors and false doctrines, which are lies in hypocrisy; with which men that lie in wait to deceive would, if it were possible, deceive the very elect: Agur conscious of his own weakness, and proneness to evil, desires the Lord would not lead him into temptation, but deliver him from all evil, doctrinal and practical. Some understand this of the forgiveness of sin; which is sometimes expressed by a putting or removing it away, 2 Samuel 7:13

Psalms 103:12;

give me neither poverty nor riches; this is the "second" request, not to be extremely poor nor too rich; but to be in a middle state between both, neither rich nor poor; which Horace b calls the golden mean, and which Agur wisely judged to be the happiest state; most free from care, least liable to temptation, and the best situation to serve the Lord in: a like wish was made by Theognis c, I neither love to be rich,

"nor desire it; but to live on a little, having no evil;''

so Martial d. Both riches and poverty are of God; men are rich or poor, as the Lord pleases; he suffers poverty in some, and gives riches to others: Agur deprecates both, as having their separate, peculiar, snares and temptations; though no doubt this request was made with submission to the will of God; and not as considering either of them as evils in themselves, but as they might be attended with bad consequences, and what is next mentioned being more eligible;

feed me with food convenient for me; not merely what was agreeable to his palate, suitable to his constitution, and sufficient for nature; nor for him personally, but for his family also; and what was proper and suitable to the condition and circumstances in which he was, and to the rank and quality he held, whether in a more private or in a more public capacity. Some render it, "the food of my allowance" e; what is allotted and appointed for me It seems to be the same which Job calls his "necessary food", and Christ "our daily bread": it takes in both food and raiment, which having, men should be contented with; see

Job 23:12. The allusion seems to be to the stated measure of food allowed to servants by the day, or rather by the month, called "demensum", and which was but small and scanty f; yet with this Agur could be content.

b Camin. l. 2. Ode 10. v. 5. c Sententiae, v. 1151, 1152. d "Nunquam divitias deos rogavi, contentus modicis, meoque laetus; paupertas, veniam dabis, recede", Epigr. l. 4. Ep. 65. e לחם חקי "panem statuti mei", Montanus; "demensi mei", Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus, Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens. f Vid. Juvenal. Sat. 14. v. 126. & Not. in ibid.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The order of the two requests is significant. The wise man’s prayer is first and chiefly, “truth in the inward parts,” the removal of all forms of falsehood, hollowness, hypocrisy.

Neither poverty ... - The evil of the opposite extremes of social life is that in different ways they lead men to a false standard of duty, and so to that forgetfulness of God which passes into an absolute denial.

Food convenient for me - literally, “give me for food the bread of my appointed portion.” The prayer foreshadows that which we have been taught by the Divine Wisdom: “Give us, day by day, our daily bread.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 30:8. Remove far from me vanity and lies.

1. שוא shav, all false shows, all false appearances of happiness, every vain expectation. Let me not set my heart on any thing that is not solid, true, durable, and eternal.

2. Lies, דבר כזב debar cazab, all words of deception, empty pretensions, false promises, uncertain dependences, and words that FAIL; promises which, when they become due, are like bad bills; they are dishonoured because they are found to be forged, or the drawer insolvent.

From the import of the original, I am satisfied that Agur prays against idolatry, false religion, and false worship of every kind. שוא shau is used for an idol, a false god. Jeremiah 18:15: "My people have forsaken me; they have burnt incense to VANITY;" לשוא lashshav, "to an IDOL." Psalms 31:6: "I have hated them that regard lying VANITIES;" הבלי שוא habley shave, "vain IDOLS." See also Hosea 12:11; Jonah 2:8. And כזב cazab, a thing that fails or deceives, may well apply to the vain pretensions, false promises, and deceptive religious rites of idolatry. So Jeremiah 15:18: "Wilt thou be unto me as a liar," כמו אכזב kemo achzob, like the false, failing promises of the false gods; "and as waters that fail;" לא נאמנו lo neemanu, that are not faithful; not like the true God, whose promises never fail. According to this view of the subject, Agur prays,

1. That he may be preserved from idolatry.

2. That he may put no confidence in any words but those pure words of God that never fail them that trust in him.

Give me neither poverty nor riches — Here are three requests:

1. Give me not poverty. The reason is added: Lest, being poor, I shall get into a covetous spirit, and, impelled by want, distrust my Maker, and take my neighbour's property; and, in order to excuse, hide, or vindicate my conduct, I take the name of my God in vain; תפשתי taphasti, "I catch at the name of God." Or, by swearing falsely, endeavour to make myself pass for innocent. Forswere the name of my God. - Old MS. Bible. Coverdale, "deny or apostatize from him."

2. Give me not riches. For which petition he gives a reason also: Lest I be full, and addict myself to luxurious living, pamper the flesh and starve the soul, and so deny thee, the Fountain of goodness; and, if called on to resort to first principles, I say, Who is Jehovah! Why should I acknowledge, why should I serve him? And thus cast aside all religion, and all moral obligation.

3. The third request is, Feed me with food convenient for me, הטריפני לחם חקי hatripheni lechem chukki; the meaning of which is, "give me as prey my statute allowance of bread," i.e., my daily bread, a sufficient portion for each day. There is an allusion made to hunting: "Direct so by thy good providence, that I may each day find sufficient portion to subsist on, as a hunter in the forest prays that he may have good speed." It is the province of a preacher to show the importance and utility of such a prayer, and dilate the circumstances, and expand the reasons, after the commentator has shown the literal sense.


 
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