PROV 30:26 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 30:1–33: Here are the sayings of Agur

This section is a collection of verses that were written or organized by Agur the son of Jakeh.Some scholars think that Agur wrote or collected only verses 1–4, 1–6, 1–9, or 1–14. UBS (page 617), Toy (page 518), and Longman (page 513) are among those who list some of these possibilities. The GNT indicates with quotation marks that Agur’s words end after v.6. No other versions indicate that Agur’s words end before the end of the chapter. Waltke (volume I, page 26) strongly defends the entire chapter as the “oracle” of Agur on the basis of its structural unity. Kidner (page 178) divides the chapter into two sections (1–9) and (10–33), but identifies both as coming from “the sage.” The title of this section (30:1a) is the only place in Scripture that Agur is mentioned. The section is divided into paragraphs that vary from one to five verses. The Notes will suggest a paragraph heading for all paragraphs after 30:1a. It is suggested that you use similar headings in your translation to help the readers follow the changes of topic and audience.

The first nine verses contain Agur’s personal thoughts and prayers. Some are addressed to God, others to his audience. The rest of the chapter contains proverbs on various topics. Some are individual warnings or statements (30:10, 17, 20, 32–33). Others contain several kinds of lists of four items each. The lists in verses 15b–16, 18–19, 21–23, and 29–31 have the same form as the numerical proverb in 6:16–19. (See the paragraph summary for 6:16–19 and the notes on 6:16a–b.) The lists in verses 11–14 and 24–28 have different forms. These will be described in the paragraph summaries where they first occur.

Some other headings for this section are:

The Words of Agur (ESV)

Wise Words from Agur (NCV)

Words that the LORD caused Agur to make known

Paragraph 30:24–28 Four things that are small but very wise

This paragraph is a list of four items, but it is not introduced with the parallel numbers three and four like the numerical proverb in 30:21–23. The first verse introduces two contrasting characteristics which are true of each item in the list. The first line of each verse describes an apparent weakness or disadvantage of a particular animal. The second line describes the unexpected way that the animal makes up for the disadvantage.

30:26

The parallel parts in bold print contrast. The parts in 30:26a describe the inability of hyraxes to defend themselves against stronger animals. To make up for this weakness, they have the wisdom to live where predators cannot reach them (30:26b).

^26athe rock badgers are creatures of little power,

^26byet they make their home in the rocks;

30:26a

the rock badgers are creatures of little power,

Hyraxes have little power/ability to defend themselves,
The second is the small animal called shapan/hiraks. They are also not very strong,

the rock badgers: The Hebrew word šapan that the BSB translates as rock badgers refers to the “Syrian hyrax.”According to Toy (page 534) and Kidner (page 181), naturalists agree that the šapan is the Syrian hyrax. Toy adds that its habit of living in crevices in the rocks proves that it is not a “coney,” the old English word for “rabbit.” See the UBS publication “All Creatures Great and Small,” section 2:20, on TW for more details about the hyrax and the traditions surrounding the names used in English Bibles. See the suggested footnote after the translation suggestions for a description of the hyrax. Many English versions use the words “coneys,” “rock badgers,” or “badgers” to translate the Hebrew word. These terms follow long-established traditions,Many scholars use the name “rock badger” because of its common use in English versions, but according to the UBS publication “All Creatures Great and Small” (section 2:20) on TW, this word was coined by BDB in their 1906 translation of Gesenius’ Hebrew lexicon. There is no record of an animal known as the rock badger before that time. but most English speakers are unfamiliar with the words “coney” and “rock badger,” and “badgers” are known to be fierce fighters with long sharp claws that eat many things besides plants.

Several kinds of hyrax are common in the Middle East and Africa as well as SW Asia. Languages in these areas will probably have their own word for “hyrax.” In areas where hyraxes are not known, another way to translate this word is:

Transliterate the Hebrew or English words, using a spelling that fits your language. For example:
shapan/shafan/sapan
hiraks If possible, add a picture and/or a footnote that describes the hyrax A suggested footnote is:
A shafan is a small animal that eats only plants. Its size is like a small rabbit or marmot. It has small round ears and a very short tail. It cannot protect itself by fighting, so it lives in rocky areas or cliffs where larger animals cannot reach it.
Use a borrowed word from a major language. If it is not well known, add a picture and/or a footnote as suggested above.

are creatures of little power: This phrase means that hyraxes, like ants, are not very strong. They do not have the power or ability to defend themselves against predators. Some other ways to translate this line are:

Hyraxes—they aren’t powerful (NLT)

The small animals called “shafan” are not able to fight larger animals

Hiraks are small, weak animals that cannot defend themselves

30:26b

yet they make their homes in the rocks;

but their home is in steep, rocky areas.
but they live in the rocks/cliffs, where their enemies cannot reach them.

yet they make their homes in the rocks: This phrase means that they live in areas with many rocks, often on mountainsides or cliffs. It does not mean that they “construct” their homes in these places. Their wisdom in living where they can easily hide from their enemies makes up for their weakness and inability to fight. Some other ways to translate this line are:

yet they make their homes in the cliffs (ESV)

but live among the rocks (CEV)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: translate-unknown

שְׁ֭פַנִּים

badgers

Rock badgers are small animals also called “hyraxes” that live in the cracks between rocks in the wilderness. If your readers would not be familiar with this type of animal, you could use the name of something similar in your area, or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: “Small mammals that living among rocks”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

עַ֣ם

people

See how you translated the same use of people in the previous verse.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

בַ⁠סֶּ֣לַע בֵּיתָֽ⁠ם

in,rock[s] home_of,their

Although house and the cliff are singular, they refer to these things in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “their houses in the cliffs”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

בֵּיתָֽ⁠ם

home_of,their

Here Agur refers to the places where Rock badgers live as if those places were houses such as humans live in. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “their dwelling places” or “their holes”

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.