Font Size
Proverbs 30:15-31:9
English Standard Version
Proverbs 30:15-31:9
English Standard Version
15 The leech has two daughters:
Give and Give.[a]
(A)Three things are never satisfied;
(B)four never say, “Enough”:
16 (C)Sheol, (D)the barren womb,
the land never satisfied with water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough.”
17 The eye that (E)mocks a father
and (F)scorns to obey a mother
will (G)be picked out by (H)the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.
18 (I)Three things are (J)too wonderful for me;
(K)four I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a serpent on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a virgin.
20 This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done no wrong.”
21 Under (L)three things (M)the earth trembles;
under (N)four it cannot bear up:
22 (O)a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is (P)filled with food;
23 (Q)an unloved woman when she (R)gets a husband,
and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
24 (S)Four things on earth are small,
but they are exceedingly wise:
25 (T)the ants are a people not strong,
yet they provide their food in the summer;
26 (U)the rock badgers are a people not mighty,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27 the locusts have no (V)king,
yet all of them march in (W)rank;
28 the lizard you can take in your hands,
yet it is in kings' palaces.
29 (X)Three things are stately in their tread;
(Y)four are stately in their stride:
30 the lion, which is mightiest among beasts
and (Z)does not turn back before any;
31 the (AA)strutting rooster,[b] the he-goat,
and a king whose army is with him.[c]
32 If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,
or if you have been devising evil,
(AB)put your hand on your mouth.
33 For pressing milk produces curds,
pressing the nose produces blood,
and pressing anger produces strife.
The Words of King Lemuel
31 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
2 What are you doing, my son?[d] What are you doing, (AC)son of my womb?
What are you doing, (AD)son of my vows?
3 Do (AE)not give your strength to women,
your ways to those (AF)who destroy kings.
4 (AG)It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings (AH)to drink wine,
or for rulers to take (AI)strong drink,
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
and (AJ)pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to the one who (AK)is perishing,
and wine to (AL)those in bitter distress;[e]
7 (AM)let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
8 (AN)Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.[f]
9 Open your mouth, (AO)judge righteously,
(AP)defend the rights of (AQ)the poor and needy.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:15 Or “Give, give,” they cry
- Proverbs 30:31 Or the magpie, or the greyhound; Hebrew girt-of-loins
- Proverbs 30:31 Or against whom there is no rising up
- Proverbs 31:2 Hebrew What, my son?
- Proverbs 31:6 Hebrew those bitter in soul
- Proverbs 31:8 Hebrew are sons of passing away
Proverbs 30:15-31:9
New International Version
Proverbs 30:15-31:9
New International Version
15 “The leech has two daughters.
‘Give! Give!’ they cry.
“There are three things that are never satisfied,(A)
four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
16 the grave,(B) the barren womb,
land, which is never satisfied with water,
and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’
17 “The eye that mocks(C) a father,
that scorns an aged mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
will be eaten by the vultures.(D)
18 “There are three things that are too amazing for me,
four that I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20 “This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth
and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’(E)
21 “Under three things the earth trembles,
under four it cannot bear up:
22 a servant who becomes king,(F)
a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
23 a contemptible woman who gets married,
and a servant who displaces her mistress.
24 “Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
25 Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer;(G)
26 hyraxes(H) are creatures of little power,
yet they make their home in the crags;
27 locusts(I) have no king,
yet they advance together in ranks;
28 a lizard can be caught with the hand,
yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
29 “There are three things that are stately in their stride,
four that move with stately bearing:
30 a lion, mighty among beasts,
who retreats before nothing;
31 a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
and a king secure against revolt.[a]
32 “If you play the fool and exalt yourself,
or if you plan evil,
clap your hand over your mouth!(J)
33 For as churning cream produces butter,
and as twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife.”
Sayings of King Lemuel
31 The sayings(K) of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.
2 Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!(L)
3 Do not spend your strength[b] on women,
your vigor on those who ruin kings.(M)
4 It is not for kings, Lemuel—
it is not for kings to drink wine,(N)
not for rulers to crave beer,
5 lest they drink(O) and forget what has been decreed,(P)
and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
6 Let beer be for those who are perishing,
wine(Q) for those who are in anguish!
7 Let them drink(R) and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:31 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Proverbs 31:3 Or wealth
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.