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Text -- Proverbs 30:11-33 (NET)
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Context
30:11 There is a generation who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers .
30:12 There is a generation who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not washed from their filthiness .
30:13 There is a generation whose eyes are so lofty , and whose eyelids are lifted up disdainfully.
30:14 There is a generation whose teeth are like swords and whose molars are like knives to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among the human race.
30:15 The leech has two daughters : “Give ! Give !” There are three things that are never satisfied , four that never say , “Enough ”–
30:16 the grave , the barren womb , land that is not satisfied with water , and fire that never says , “Enough !”
30:17 The eye that mocks at a father and despises obeying a mother – the ravens of the valley will peck it out and the young vultures will eat it.
30:18 There are three things that are too wonderful for me, four that I do not understand :
30:19 the way of an eagle in the sky , the way of a snake on a rock , the way of a ship in the sea , and the way of a man with a woman .
30:20 This is the way of an adulterous woman : she eats and wipes her mouth and says , “I have not done wrong .”
30:21 Under three things the earth trembles , and under four things it cannot bear up :
30:22 under a servant who becomes king , under a fool who is stuffed with food ,
30:23 under an unloved woman who is married , and under a female servant who dispossesses her mistress .
30:24 There are four things on earth that are small , but they are exceedingly wise :
30:25 ants are creatures with little strength , but they prepare their food in the summer ;
30:26 rock badgers are creatures with little power , but they make their homes in the crags ;
30:27 locusts have no king , but they all go forward by ranks ;
30:28 a lizard you can catch with the hand , but it gets into the palaces of the king .
30:29 There are three things that are magnificent in their step , four things that move about magnificently :
30:30 a lion , mightiest of the beasts , who does not retreat from anything ;
30:31 a strutting rooster , a male goat , and a king with his army around him.
30:32 If you have done foolishly by exalting yourself or if you have planned evil , put your hand over your mouth !
30:33 For as the churning of milk produces butter and as punching the nose produces blood , so stirring up anger produces strife .
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Pro 30:11; Pro 30:11; Pro 30:12; Pro 30:12; Pro 30:12; Pro 30:13; Pro 30:13; Pro 30:13; Pro 30:14; Pro 30:14; Pro 30:14; Pro 30:14; Pro 30:15; Pro 30:15; Pro 30:15; Pro 30:15; Pro 30:15; Pro 30:16; Pro 30:16; Pro 30:16; Pro 30:17; Pro 30:17; Pro 30:17; Pro 30:18; Pro 30:19; Pro 30:19; Pro 30:20; Pro 30:20; Pro 30:20; Pro 30:20; Pro 30:21; Pro 30:22; Pro 30:22; Pro 30:22; Pro 30:23; Pro 30:23; Pro 30:24; Pro 30:24; Pro 30:25; Pro 30:26; Pro 30:26; Pro 30:27; Pro 30:28; Pro 30:28; Pro 30:28; Pro 30:29; Pro 30:29; Pro 30:30; Pro 30:31; Pro 30:31; Pro 30:32; Pro 30:32; Pro 30:33; Pro 30:33; Pro 30:33
NET Notes: Pro 30:11 The first observation is that there is a segment in society that lacks respect for parents. This uses the antonyms “curse” and [not] ̶...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:12 Filthiness often refers to physical uncleanness, but here it refers to moral defilement. Zech 3:3-4 uses it metaphorically as well for the sin of the ...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:13 The verbs “to be high” (translated “are…lofty”) and “to be lifted up” depict arrogance and disdain for other...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:14 The Hebrew form לֶאֱכֹל (le’ekhol) is the Qal infinitive construct; it indicates the purpose of this g...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:15 Throughout the book of Proverbs הוֹן (hon) means “wealth”; but here it has the nuance of “sufficiency”...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:16 There is no clear lesson made from these observations. But one point that could be made is that greed, symbolized by the leech, is as insatiable as al...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:17 The sternest punishment is for the evil eye. The punishment is talionic – eye for eye. The reference to “the valley” may indicate a ...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:19 This last item in the series is the most difficult to understand. The MT reads וְדֶּרֶךְ ג...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:20 This is the amazing part of the observation. It is one thing to sin, for everyone sins, but to dismiss the act of adultery so easily, as if it were no...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:21 The Hebrew verb means “to rage; to quake; to be in tumult.” The sage is using humorous and satirical hyperbole to say that the changes des...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:22 The expression stuffed with food probably represents prosperity in general. So the line portrays someone who suddenly comes into wealth, but continues...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:23 The verb יָרַשׁ (yarash) means either (1) “to possess; to inherit” or (2) “to dispossess.”...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:24 The construction uses the Pual participle with the plural adjective as an intensive; these four creatures are the very embodiment of wisdom (BDB 314 s...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:25 The wisdom of the ants is found in their diligent preparation (כּוּן, kun) of food supplies in the summer for times in t...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:26 Modern scholars identify this creature with the rock badger (the Syrian hyrax), a small mammal that lives in the crevices of the rock. Its wisdom cons...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:27 The Hebrew term means “divided”; they go forward in orderly divisions, or ranks (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 535). Joel 1:4 describes their...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:28 Although the Hebrew noun translated “king” is singular here, it is traditionally translated as plural: “kings’ palaces” ...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:29 The construction uses the Hiphil participle again (as in the previous line) followed by the infinitive construct of הָלַך...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:30 Heb “mighty among the beasts,” but referring to a superlative degree (“mightiest”).
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NET Notes: Pro 30:31 This last line has inspired many suggestions. The MT has “with his army around him” (אַלְקוּ...
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NET Notes: Pro 30:32 Heb “hand to mouth.” This express means “put your hand to your mouth” (e.g., Job 40:4, 5); cf. NIV “clap your hand over....
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