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| 1 The words of Agur, son of Jakeh, [even] the oracle,–The utterance of the man, for Ithiel, for Ithiel and Ucal. |
The words of – Chapters 30 and 31 do not claim Solomon for their author. R1518:2
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| 2 Surely, more brutish, am, I, than any man, nor doth, the understanding of a son of earth, pertain to me; |
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| 3 Neither have I learned wisdom, nor, the knowledge of the Holy Ones, can I acquire. |
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| 4 Who hath ascended the heavens and then descended? Who hath gathered the wind into his two hands? Who hath wrapped up the waters in a mantle? Who hath set up all the ends of the earth? What is his name and what the name of his son, when thou knowest? |
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| 5 Every saying of God is refined, A shield, is, he, to them who seek refuge in him. |
Word of God is pure – However we have abundant proof that the English translation is not perfect. R52:3*
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| 6 Do not add unto his words, lest he convict thee, and thou be found false. |
Add thou not – The penalty was death for the Scribe who dared alter a single word of Scripture. R52:2*
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| 7 Two things, have I asked of thee, withhold them not from me, ere yet I die: |
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| 8 Vanity and falsehood, remove far from me, Neither poverty nor riches, give me, Feed me with the food appointed me: |
Give me neither – The two-talent man would have a natural advantage over the one-talent man in that he would be neither so likely to be discouraged nor to be puffed up, nor have the increased responsibility of those possessing more. R4660:1
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| 9 Lest I be full, and deny, and say–Who is Yahweh? or lest I be impoverished and steal, and do violence to the Name of my God. |
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| 10 Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he revile thee, and thou be found guilty. |
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| 11 A generation! Its father, it revileth, and, its mother, it doth not bless. |
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| 12 A generation! Pure in its own eyes, yet, from its filth, hath it not been bathed, |
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| 13 A generation! How lofty are its eyes, and its eyelashes uplifted. |
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| 14 A generation! Swords, are its teeth, and, knives, its incisors,–to devour the humbled out of the earth, and the needy, from among men. |
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| 15 The vampire, hath two daughters, Give! Give! Three, there are, will not be satisfied, four, have not said, Enough! |
Are never satisfied – No end of capacity and can never be over-filled. E368
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| 16 Hades, and barrenness,–A land not satisfied with water, and fire, that saith not, Enough! |
The grave – Sheol, oblivion, death. R2600:2; E368
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| 17 The eye that mocketh a father, and despiseth to obey a mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young of the eagle shall eat it. |
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| 18 Three, things there are, too difficult for me, yea, four, which I do not understand: |
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| 19 The way of an eagle in the heavens, the way of a serpent on the rock,–the way of a ship in the heart of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid. |
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| 20 So, is the way of a woman committing adultery,–she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no iniquity! |
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| 21 Under three things, a land is stirred, yea, under four, she cannot bear up:
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| 22 Under a servant, when he reigneth, and a base man, when he is surfeited with food; |
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| 23 Under a hateful woman, when she is married, and a handmaid when she driveth out her mistress. |
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| 24 Four, things there are, the small of the earth,–yet, they, are wiser than the wise: |
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| 25 The ants, a people, not strong,–yet prepare they, in summer, their food; |
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| 26 The conies, a people of, no power, yet set they, among the crags, their house; |
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| 27 King, is there none, to, the locusts,–yet go forth in swarms, do they all; |
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| 28 The lizard, with hands, reneweth its hold,–yet, the same, is in the palaces of the king. |
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| 29 Three, things there are which step along well, ye, four, which excel in going: |
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| 30 The lion, hero among beasts, which turneth aside from the face of no one; |
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| 31 The greyhound, or the he-goat,–and a king, having a band of soldiers with him. |
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| 32 If thou hast acted basely by lifting thyself up,–if thou hast plotted evil, [put thy] hand to [thy] mouth! |
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| 33 Surely, the pressing of milk, bringeth forth curd, and, the pressing of the nose, bringeth forth blood, and, the pressing of wrath, bringeth forth strife. |
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