PROV 30:28 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.

30:28

The parts in bold print contrast the ease of catching a lizard with its ability to live in the luxurious palace of a powerful king.

and the lizard can be caught in one’s hands,

yet it is found in the palaces of kings.

30:28a

and the lizard can be caught in one’s hands,

Finally, you^(sing) can easily grasp/hold a lizard in your hand,
The fourth is the gecko. A person can catch it with his hand/fingers,

and the lizard can be caught in one’s hands: The word lizard refers to a gecko or house lizard. The gecko is a small lizard that can run easily across walls or ceilings and eats small insects like mosquitoes.The Hebrew word for “lizard” occurs only once in the OT. Almost all versions and scholars identify it as the gecko. The KJV has “spider.” Fox (page 879) translates it as “spider,” but gives no reasoning to support it. A person can easily grasp, hold, or catch it with the hand. Some other ways to translate this line are:

While a lizard is easy enough to catch in your hand (VOICE)

Lizards—they are easy to catch (NLT)

the lizard can be grasped in the hand (NRSV)

30:28b

yet it is found in the palaces of kings.

yet it knows how to enter the houses of kings/rulers.
but it has the ability to live in palaces.

yet it is found in the palaces of kings: In many languages the word palaces is associated with a king or other ruler, so it may not be necessary to specify the word kings. Some other ways to translate this line are:

it is shrewd enough to enter the palaces of kings (VOICE)

but they are found even in kings’ palaces (NLT)

but you can find them in palaces (GNT)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

שְׂ֭מָמִית & וְ֝⁠הִ֗יא & מֶֽלֶךְ

lizard & and=she & king

Here, a lizard, it, and the king represent lizards and kings in general, not one particular lizard or king. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “any lizard … yet any lizard … any king”

Note 2 topic: translate-unknown

שְׂ֭מָמִית

lizard

A lizard is a small animal that crawls on the ground and can hide in houses. 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: “a small crawling animal”

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.