PROV 30:9 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 30:7–9 Agur made requests to the LORD

This prayer has the following structure:Whybray (page 411).

Introduction to Agur’s two requests (30:7a–b)
The two requests (30:8a–c)
Agur’s motives or reasons for making these requests (30:9a–d)

30:9

In this verse, Agur tells the LORD his motives or reasons for making the requests in 30:8b–c. The reason in 30:9a–b focuses on his request to not be rich. The reason in 39:9c–d focuses on his request to not be poor. Each reason gives one or more possible bad consequences of wealth or poverty.

^9aOtherwise, I may have too much and deny You,

^9bsaying, ‘Who is the LORD?’

^9cOr I may become poor and steal,

^9dprofaning the name of my God.

30:9a

Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You,

For if I have more than enough food, it is possible that I will turn away from you^(sing)
If you give me too much wealth, I might forget that everything I own comes from you

Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You: Agur is afraid that if he becomes wealthy, he might rely on his riches and deny that the LORD is the one who provides for his needs. Some other ways to translate this line are:

for if I have too much, I shall deny you (REB)

If I have too much to eat, I might forget about you (CEV)

For if I have too much, I might forget You are the One who provides (VOICE)

30:9a–b

(combined/reordered)

If I have more, I might say that I do not need you. (GNT)

30:9b

saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’

and say, “Who is Yahweh? Why should I depend on him?”
and say, “I do not know any God named Yahweh.”
Then I might say, “Why should I trust Yahweh? I do not need him.”

saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’: This is a rhetorical question. Its function is to express the arrogant attitude of a person who claims he does not know the LORD. It implies that the LORD is an unimportant god that nobody needs to know or trust.Waltke (page 480), Fox (page 860).

Some other ways to translate this question are:

Use a different rhetorical question. For example:
saying, ‘Why do I need to know this God whose name is the LORD?’
Change it to a statement. For example:
and say, ‘I don’t know the Lord.’ (NCV)
Combine it with the parallel phrase “deny You” in 30:9a.UBS (page 626). For example:
I might say that I do not need you (GNT)

30:9c

Or I may become poor and steal,

But if I do not have enough to eat, I might repeatedly/habitually steal things.
And if I am too poor, I might become a thief.

Or I may become poor and steal: In contrast to having too much, Agur may become poor and lack what he needs to stay alive. This extreme poverty would tempt him to steal.

steal: This word probably refers here to repeated or habitual stealing. It describes someone who becomes a thief.UBS (page 626) cites the NJB “take to stealing” as an example. McKane (page 259) uses the phrase “become a thief.”

Some other ways to translate this line are:

And if I am too poor, I may steal (NLT)

Or if I do not have enough, I might become hungry and turn to stealing (VOICE)

30:9d

profaning the name of my God.

As a result, I will cause people to insult/despise the name/character of my God.
If that happens, I will ruin the good/honored reputation of my God.
And because of that, O God, I will cause you^(sing) disgrace/shame.

This line gives the result of stealing.Ross (page 1120), UBS (page 626). If he steals, he will dishonor the name of his God, because it was God who commanded people not to steal (see Deuteronomy 5:19). His action will imply that God’s command was unreasonable. It will also imply that God is not reliable, because God did not meet his needs.Hubbard (page 461), Waltke (page 480).

profaning the name of my God: A person’s name represents the person himself, including his character and reputation. When a person profanes the name of God, he ruins God’s reputation. Some other ways to translate this line are:

Use the word “name” or “reputation.” For example:
and give the name of my God a bad reputation (GW)
and thus insult God’s holy name (NLT)
Refer to God directly. For example:
and bring disgrace on my God (GNT)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / hypo

פֶּ֥ן אֶשְׂבַּ֨ע

lest have_too_much

Agur uses this expression to introduce an imaginary situation to help explain why he asked God not to allow him to become rich in the previous verse. Use a natural method in your language for introducing an imaginary situation. Alternate translation: “Suppose I be satiated”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

אֶשְׂבַּ֨ע

have_too_much

Here, satiated refers to having too much food and possessions. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “I possess too much”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וְ⁠כִחַשְׁתִּי֮

and,I_will_deny

Agur is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from the context if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “and I deny Yahweh”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations

וְ⁠אָמַ֗רְתִּי מִ֥י יְה֫וָ֥ה

and,I_will_say who? YHWH

If it would be more natural in your language, you could express this as an indirect quotation. Alternate translation: “and ask who Yahweh is.”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

מִ֥י יְה֫וָ֥ה

who? YHWH

Agur is using the question form to emphasize what might happen to him if he became too rich. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: “I don’t know Yahweh!”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / hypo

וּ⁠פֶֽן־אִוָּרֵ֥שׁ

and,lest poor

Agur uses this expression to introduce an imaginary situation to help explain why he asked God not to allow him to become poor in the previous verse. Use a natural method in your language for introducing an imaginary situation. Alternate translation: “And suppose I become dispossessed”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

אִוָּרֵ֥שׁ

poor

Here, dispossessed refers to someone becoming so poor that he loses everything that he owns. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “I become so poor that I own nothing”

Note 8 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

וְ֝⁠תָפַ֗שְׂתִּי

and,I_will_seize

Here, and introduces the result of stealing. Use the most natural way in your language to indicate results. Alternate translation: “and so I seize”

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וְ֝⁠תָפַ֗שְׂתִּי

and,I_will_seize

Here, Agur speaks of disgracing the name of my God as if the name were an object that someone could violently seize and hurt. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and I might disgrace”

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

שֵׁ֣ם

name_of

Here, name refers to a person’s reputation. See how you translated the same use of name in [22:1](../22/01.md).

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 30:9

Hebrew word order