PROV 30:19 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) • 1. how an eagle’s soars in the sky,
• 2. how a snake slithers over a rock,
• 3. how a ship sails across the ocean, and
• 4. how a young man loves a young woman.

Key: .
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT the way of the eagle in the sky,
⇔ the way of a snake on a rock,
⇔ the way of a ship in the heart of the sea,
⇔ and the way of a young man with a young woman.

UST how a bird flies in the air,
⇔ how a snake slithers over a rock,
⇔ how a ship sails in the middle of the ocean,
⇔ and how a young man loves a young woman.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE The way of an eagle in the air,
⇔ the way of a serpent on a rock,
⇔ the way of a ship in the middle of the sea,
⇔ and the way of a man with a maiden.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET 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.

LSV The way of the eagle in the heavens,
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a ship in the heart of the sea,
And the way of a man in youth.

FBV The way an eagle soars in the sky, the way a snake slides over a rock, the way a ship sails across the sea, the way a man and a woman fall in love.

T4T How eagles fly in the sky,
⇔ how snakes are able to move/crawl across a big rock,
⇔ how ships sail on the seas,
⇔ and how a man falls in love with a woman.

LEB   • the way of the eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock,
  • the way of a ship in the heart of the sea,
  • and the way of a man with a young woman.

BBE The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a snake on a rock; the way of a ship in the heart of the sea; and the way of a man with a girl.

Moff the way a vulture wings the air
⇔ the way a snake glides over stones,
⇔ the way a ship sails o’er the sea
⇔ and the way of a man with a maid.

JPS The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a young woman.

ASV The way of an eagle in the air;
⇔ The way of a serpent upon a rock;
⇔ The way of a ship in the midst of the sea;
⇔ And the way of a man with a maiden.

DRA The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man in youth.

YLT The way of the eagle in the heavens, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the heart of the sea, And the way of a man in youth.

Drby The way of an eagle in the heavens, the way of a serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid.

RV The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

SLT The way of the eagle in the heavens; the way of the serpent upon the rock; the way of the ship in the heart of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

Wbstr The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

KJB-1769 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.[fn]

30.19 midst: Heb. heart

KJB-1611 [fn]The way of an Eagle in the ayre; the way of a serpent vpon a rocke; the the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.
(The way of an Eagle in the ayre; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.)

30:19 Heb. heart.

Bshps The way of an Egle in the ayre, the way of a serpent vpon a stone, the way of a ship in the middest of the sea, and the way of a man with a young woman:
(The way of an Eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a stone, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a young woman:)

Gnva The way of an eagle in the aire, the way of a serpent vpon a stone, ye way of a ship in ye middes of the sea, and the way of a man with a maide.
(The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a stone, ye/you_all way of a ship in ye/you_all midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a maide. )

Cvdl The waye of an Aegle in ye ayre, ye waye of a serpent ouer ye stone, ye waye of a shippe in ye see, & ye waye of a ma wt a yonge woma.
(The way of an Eagle in ye/you_all air, ye/you_all way of a serpent over ye/you_all stone, ye/you_all way of a ship in ye/you_all see, and ye/you_all way of a man with a young woma.)

Wycl the weye of an egle in heuene, the weie of a serpent on a stoon, the weie of a schip in the myddil of the see, and the weie of a man in yong wexynge age.
(the way of an eagle in heaven, the way of a serpent on a stone, the way of a ship in the middle of the sea, and the way of a man in young wexing age.)

Luth des Adlers Weg im Himmel, der Schlangen Weg auf einem Felsen, des Schiffs Weg mitten im Meer und eines Mannes Weg an einer Magd.
(the eagle(s)s way/path/road in_the heaven, the/of_the snakes way/path/road on/in/to on rock, the ships way/path/road midway/in_the_middle in_the sea and one/a man's way/path/road at/to one/a Magd.)

ClVg viam aquilæ in cælo, viam colubri super petram, viam navis in medio mari, et viam viri in adolescentia.
(way/road eagles in/into/on the_sky, way/road colubri over a_rock, way/road ship in/into/on in_the_middle of_the_sea, and way/road men in/into/on adolescence. )

SOTN 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 30:18–19 Four amazing things that I cannot understand

This is a numerical proverb that has the same form as 30:15b–16. It lists four things that the author considers to be too amazing or wonderful to understand. He cannot understand the way or manner in which each of the four things move toward their destinations or accomplish their goals.

30:19

The first three things involve movement in the sky, on land, and on the sea. The fourth thing is the climax. It involves progress in a human relationship.

^19a the way of an eagle in the sky,

^19b the way of a snake on a rock,

^19c the way of a ship at sea,

^19dand the way of a man with a maiden.

30:19a

the way of an eagle in the sky,

I do not understand the way an eagle flies across the sky,
The first thing is how an eagle flies in the sky.
So I ask myself: How does an eagle fly/glide through the air/sky?

the way of an eagle in the sky: This phrase refers to the manner in which an eagle glides, soars or flies through the air. It is amazing that such a large, heavy bird can stay in the air and not fall to the ground.Cohen (page 205). In languages where eagles are not known, you may use a more general word, such as “bird.” Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

the way an eagle flies in the sky (NCV)

how an eagle glides through the sky (NLT)

How eagles fly so high (CEV)

30:19b

the way of a snake on a rock,

the way a snake slides/moves on/over a rock,
The second thing is how a snake crosses a smooth rock.
How does a snake slither/crawl across a large rock?

the way of a snake on a rock: This phrase refers to the manner in which a snake moves across a rock. It is implied that the rock is large and smooth.Waltke (page 491) points out that the snake’s movement is amazing, because it has nothing with which to grip the rock’s smooth surface. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

the way a snake slides over a rock (NCV)

how a snake slithers on a rock (NLT)

30:19c

the way of a ship at sea,

or the way a large ship sails/moves across the middle of the ocean.
The third thing is how a sailing ship continues to move in the right direction when it is far from land.
How does a ship know the right pathway over the wide ocean?

the way of a ship at sea: The word ship refers to a large sailing ship. In Hebrew, the phrase at sea is literally “in the heart of the sea.” It refers to an area in the ocean that is far from land. Two amazing things about such a ship are that it stays afloatCohen (page 205). and can find its way across the ocean, even where there are no landmarks.Toy (page 531) and Ross (page 1124) both refer to the “trackless” ocean. Some other ways to translate this line are:

the way of a ship in mid-ocean (NJB)

how a ship navigates the ocean (NLT)

See how you translated the phrase “on the high seas” in the first line of 23:34.

30:19d

and the way of a man with a maiden.

Finally, I do not understand the way a man loves a young woman.
The last thing is how a man and a woman experience love for each other.
Finally, how does the love of a man for a young woman increase and reach its fulfillment?

and the way of a man with a maiden: In Hebrew, the word that the BSB translates as maiden refers to a young woman who is either unmarried or has just gotten married.UBS (page 636). According to most scholars, this phrase probably refers to sexual intercourse.Scholars who support this view include Fox (page 872), who says this phrase does not refer to “courtship;” and Ross (page 1124). Waltke (page 491–492) provides the most complete discussion, including the spatial implications of the preposition (probably “in” rather than “with”) the young woman. Cohen (page 205) and Whybray (page 416) prefer the view that this line refers to the mystery of bearing children. You should translate it in a way that is appropriate for your language and will not offend people who read or hear this verse read aloud. Some ways to translate this line are:

the way of a man with a virgin (ESV)

the way a man becomes one with his virgin wife (VOICE)

how a man loves a woman (NLT)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

דֶּ֤רֶךְ & דֶּ֥רֶךְ & דֶּֽרֶךְ & וְ⁠דֶ֖רֶךְ

road/way_of & road/way_of & way_of & and_[the],way_of

In this verse, way refers to the manner of doing something. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “the manner of … the manner of … the manner of … and the manner of”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

הַ⁠נֶּ֨שֶׁר & נָחָ֗שׁ & אֳנִיָּ֥ה & יָ֑ם & גֶּ֣בֶר בְּ⁠עַלְמָֽה

of,the_eagle & snake & ship & sea & man with,a_young_woman

These phrases refer to these things or people in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “any eagle … any snake … any ship … any sea … any young man with any young woman”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

דֶּ֤רֶךְ הַ⁠נֶּ֨שֶׁר ׀ בַּ⁠שָּׁמַיִם֮

road/way_of of,the_eagle in,heavens

Here Agur is using the possessive form to describe the way that the eagle flies in the sky. If your language would not use the possessive form for this, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “the way that the eagle flies in the sky”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

דֶּ֥רֶךְ נָחָ֗שׁ עֲלֵ֫י צ֥וּר

road/way_of snake on rock

Here Agur is using the possessive form to describe the way that a snake slithers on a rock. If your language would not use the possessive form for this, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “the way that a snake slithers on a rock”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

דֶּֽרֶךְ־אֳנִיָּ֥ה

way_of ship

Here Agur is using the possessive form to describe the way that a ship sails in the heart of the sea. If your language would not use the possessive form for this, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “the way that a ship sails”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

בְ⁠לֶב־יָ֑ם

in_[the],heart_of sea

See how you translated this phrase in [23:34](../23/34.md).

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

וְ⁠דֶ֖רֶךְ גֶּ֣בֶר בְּ⁠עַלְמָֽה

and_[the],way_of man with,a_young_woman

Here Agur is using the possessive form to describe the way that a young man interacts with a young woman. This could refer to: (1) a young married couple’s loving relationship, which could include sexual relations. Alternate translation: “and the way that a young man lovingly interacts with a young woman” (2) sexual relations. Alternate translation: “and the way that a young man is sexually intimate with a young woman”