PROV 30:32 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 30:32–33 A warning to stop behavior that leads to quarrels

Verse 30:32 is a warning to stop foolish boasting and any plans to do evil. The reason for this warning (30:33) is that this kind of behavior makes other people angry and results in strife.

30:32

^32aIf you have foolishly exalted yourself

^32bor if you have plotted evil,

^32cput your hand over your mouth!

30:32a

If you have foolishly exalted yourself

¶ If you^(sing) have acted like a fool by boasting about yourself
¶ If your foolishness caused you to honor/praise yourself

If you have foolishly exalted yourself: In Hebrew, the word that the BSB translates as foolishly is a verb form of the word “fool” that occurs in 30:22b. See the note there. It means to act like a fool.

exalted yourself: The phrase exalted yourself refers to being proud and boasting about your own importance.The word “boasting” is not specified in the Hebrew but is implied by the following command to put your hand over your mouth. Waltke (page 500) and UBS (page 643) think that boasting is involved rather than simply being proud or arrogant. It indicates that arrogant boasting is the way that the fool shows his foolishness. It does not describe a separate action.

Some other ways to translate this line are:

If you have done foolishly by exalting yourself (NET)

If you are such a godless fool as to honor yourself (GW)

If you are foolishly bragging (CEV)

30:32b

or if you have plotted evil,

and/or have planned/schemed to do something evil,
and/or you^(sing) have made evil plans/plots,

or if you have plotted evil: This clause is literally “and if you have schemed/plotted.”BART uses the word “plotted.” The NJPS has “if you have been a schemer.” UBS (page 643) says, “It is almost always used in the sense of planning to do evil.” For this line, the NJB has “and now have second thoughts.” This version differs significantly from all other versions and is not supported by the scholars. The word evil is implied. The verse does not specify whether the plan involves evil words or deeds. Some other ways to translate this line are:

or planning something evil (CEV)

or plotting evil (NLT)

30:32c

put your hand over your mouth.

cover your^(sing) mouth with your hand. Do not say anything else!
be quiet. Stop what you are doing and think about the consequences.

put your hand over your mouth: This admonition is literally “hand to mouth.” It is a cultural gesture. In this context, it means, “stop boasting and do not talk about your evil plans.” Some other ways to translate this line are:

Keep the cultural gesture if it expresses the right meaning. For example:
put your hand over your mouth (NET)
Keep the cultural gesture and add the meaning. For example:
put your hand on your mouth and do not speak
Translate the meaning without the gesture. For example:
shut your mouth (NCV)
stop and think (GNT)

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.

OET interlinear PROV 30:32