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VIII: Numerical Proverbs[a]

Insatiable Things[b]

15 The leech has two daughters,
    each of whom demands, “Give! Give!”
There are three things that are never satisfied,
    four that never say “Enough!”:

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 30:15 These are termed “numerical proverbs” because they use numbers: There are three things . . . four . . .; these figures stand for a quantity that cannot be exactly counted. They propose a truth in a witty way that constitutes their charm (see also note on Prov 6:16-19). Some proverbs of another kind (vv. 17-20, 32-33) have slipped in like intruders in this short collection.
  2. Proverbs 30:15 Here we see presented the leech, model of the parasite. Then the proverb evokes the power of a desire that is never fulfilled. The netherworld is the abyss of death that ceaselessly swallows up human generations.

15 “The leech has two daughters.
    ‘Give! Give!’ they cry.

“There are three things that are never satisfied,(A)
    four that never say, ‘Enough!’:

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