PROV 30:2 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.)

Key: red:negative.
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 “Surely, I am more stupid than a man,
⇔ and the understanding of man is not mine.

UST I am certainly less intelligent than other people.
⇔ Indeed, I do not understand as much as everyone else understands!

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE “Surely I am the most ignorant man,
⇔ and don’t have a man’s understanding.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Surely I am more brutish than any other human being,
⇔ and I do not have human understanding;

LSV For I am more brutish than anyone,
And do not have the understanding of a man.

FBV I'm so stupid I'm not really a man; I can't even think like a human being.

T4T ⇔ It seems that I am very stupid;
⇔ I do not deserve to be considered to be a human;
⇔ I do not have the good sense that humans should have.

LEB • Certainly I am more stupid than a man, and the understanding of humankind is not for me.

BBE For I am more like a beast than any man, I have no power of reasoning like a man:

Moff dull as a clod,
⇔ with no quick brain.

JPS Surely I am brutish, unlike a man, and have not the understanding of a man;

ASV Surely I am more brutish than any man,
⇔ And have not the understanding of a man;

DRA I am the most foolish of men, and the wisdom of men is not with me.

YLT For I am more brutish than any one, And have not the understanding of a man.

Drby Truly I am more stupid than any one; and I have not a man's intelligence.

RV Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man:

SLT For I am brutish more than man, and not the understanding of a man to me.

Wbstr Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.

KJB-1769 Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.

KJB-1611 Surely I am more brutish then any man, and haue not the vnderstanding of a man.
(Surely I am more brutish then any man, and have not the understanding of a man.)

Bshps Surely I am more foolishe then any man, and haue no mans vnderstandyng.
(Surely I am more foolish then any man, and have no mans understanding.)

Gnva Surely I am more foolish then any man, and haue not the vnderstanding of a man in me.
(Surely I am more foolish then any man, and have not the understanding of a man in me. )

Cvdl For though I am ye leest of all, & haue no mas vnderstodige
(For though I am ye/you_all least of all, and have no man’s understodige)

Wycl and seide, Y am the moost fool of men; and the wisdom of men is not with me.
(and said, I am the most fool of men; and the wisdom of men is not with me.)

Luth Denn ich bin der allernärrischste, und Menschenverstand ist nicht bei mir.
(Because I am the/of_the allnärrischste, and peopleverstand is not at/in to_me.)

ClVg [Stultissimus sum virorum, et sapientia hominum non est mecum.[fn]
([Stultissimus I_am of_men, and wisdom of_men not/no it_is with_me. )

30.2 Stultissimus. Filii hujus sæculi prudentiores sunt filiis lucis in generatione sua Luc. 16.. Et Apostolus: Si quis videtur esse sapiens in hoc sæculo, stultus fiat, ut sit sapiens I Cor. 3.. Non didici ab homine, sed, donante Deo, ut sanctorum scientiam noscam. Et Apostolus: Nos stulti propter Christum: iterum ait, Sapientiam autem loquimur inter perfectos. Sapientiam vero non hominum, scilicet neque principum hujus sæculi, qui destruuntur.

30.2 Stultissimus. Children of_this of_the_world/of_the_ages prudentiores are to_the_children light in/into/on generation his_own Luc. 16.. And Apostolus: When/But_if who/any it_seems to_be wise in/into/on this forever, stupid/foolish fiat, as be wise I Cor. 3.. Not/No I_learnt away man, but, donante to_God, as holy_place knowledge noscam. And Apostolus: We fools because Christ/Messiah: again he_said, Wisdomm however to_speakmur between perfectos. Wisdomm indeed/however not/no of_men, namely nor of_the_princes of_this of_the_world/of_the_ages, who/which destruuntur.

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 30:1b–3 Agur prayed to God

This is the first paragraph with a paragraph heading. It is suggested that you use a heading with similar wording in your translation.

This paragraph introduces Agur’s inspired words. It is a prayer to God. In this prayer, Agur admits that he feels very discouraged and lacks understanding (1b–3).

Three Hebrew words for God are used in 30:1–9. The word ʾel occurs in 30:1b–c, the word ʾelohim in 30:3b and 30:9d, and the word ʾeloah in 30:5a. All three are common nouns. The personal name of God (the LORD or YHWH) occurs in 30:9b.

30:2

In these two lines, Agur admits that he feels as stupid as an animal. The two lines are similar in meaning.

^2aSurely I am the most ignorant of men,

^2band I lack the understanding of a man.

30:2a–b

(combined/reordered)

My true opinion/thinking about myself is that I am like a stupid animal that cannot think like a person.

These lines are a deliberate exaggeration to emphasize a point (hyperbole). They are not literally true. Some ways to translate this figure of speech are:

Keep the hyperbole, as in the BSB. For example:
Surely I am too stupid to be human; I do not have human understanding. (NRSV)
Make explicit the implied meaning that Agur is admitting his own feelings. For example:
I feel like I am as stupid as an animal. It seems like I have no intelligence at all.

30:2a

Surely I am the most ignorant of men,

Truly/Indeed I am more stupid than any other person.
The truth is, I feel like a stupid animal. I don’t even know how to think.

Surely I am the most ignorant of men: In Hebrew, this line is literally “Surely I am more stupid than a man.” It implies that Agur feels as stupid as an animal that lacks the ability to think and reason.

In Hebrew, this line begins with a word that emphasizes Agur’s strong feelings, which the BSB translates as Surely. This word can also be translated as “indeed” or “truly.”

Some other ways to translate this line are:

Surely I am too stupid to be a man. (ESV)

I am the most stupid person there is (NCV)

ignorant: In Hebrew, this word refers to a person who seems as stupid as an animal. He is not able to think and reason. Another way to translate this word is:

like a stupid animal

See stupid in the Glossary.

30:2b

and I lack the understanding of a man.

I have no intelligence. I do not even have the mind of a person/human.
My understanding is so lacking that I do not even feel human.

I lack the understanding of a man: In Hebrew, the phrase understanding of a man refers to the mental ability of any human being to understand ideas and to draw conclusions. See understanding (insight) in the Glossary.

Some other ways to translate this line are:

I do not have the intelligence that a human being should have.

I lack the intelligence of any other person.

General Comment on 30:2a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the ideas in these two lines. For example:

I am far too stupid to be considered human. (CEV)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole

בַ֣עַר אָנֹכִ֣י מֵ⁠אִ֑ישׁ וְ⁠לֹֽא־בִינַ֖ת אָדָ֣ם לִֽ⁠י

stupid I from=man and=not understanding_of humankind to=me

Agur says these two clauses as extreme statements for emphasis. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different way to express the emphasis. Alternate translation: “I feel like I am more stupid than a man, and that the understanding of mankind is not mine”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotemarks

[30:2](../30/02.md)–[33](../30/33.md) is a long quotation of what Agur said. If it would be helpful in your language, you could indicate this with quotation marks or with whatever other punctuation or convention your language uses to indicate a quotation.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

בַ֣עַר אָנֹכִ֣י מֵ⁠אִ֑ישׁ וְ⁠לֹֽא־בִינַ֖ת אָדָ֣ם לִֽ⁠י

stupid I from=man and=not understanding_of humankind to=me

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could connect the phrases with a word other than and in order to show that the second phrase is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternate translation: “I am more stupid than a man; indeed, the understanding of mankind in not mine”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

מֵ⁠אִ֑ישׁ & אָדָ֣ם

from=man & humankind

In this verse, man refers to people in general, not to a specific man. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “than any person … any person”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

בִינַ֖ת

understanding_of

See how you translated the abstract noun understanding in [1:2](../01/02.md).