Berean Standard Bible
Proverbs 30:2
2Surely I am the most ignorant of men, and I lack the understanding of a man.
Proverbs 30:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.
- New International Version (NIV)Surely I am only a brute, not a man; I do not have human understanding.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Surely I am more stupid than any man, And do not have the understanding of a man.
Context of Proverbs 30:2
1These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh—the burden that this man declared to Ithiel: “I am weary, O God, and worn out. Surely I am the most ignorant of men, and I lack the understanding of a man. 3I have not learned wisdom, and I have no knowledge of the Holy One. 4Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son— surely you know!
Read all of Proverbs 30Proverbs 30:2 word by word
כִּ֤י בַ֣עַר אָנֹכִ֣י מֵאִ֑ישׁ וְלֹֽא־בִינַ֖ת אָדָ֣ם לִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Proverbs 30:2
- Job 42:3You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals My counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.
- Psalms 73:22I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You.
- Isaiah 6:5Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.”
- Romans 11:25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
- 1 Corinthians 3:18Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.
- 1 Corinthians 8:2The one who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
- James 1:5Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Proverbs 5:12and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
- Psalms 92:6A senseless man does not know, and a fool does not understand,
- Jeremiah 10:14Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
- 2 Peter 2:12These men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They blaspheme in matters they do not understand, and like such creatures, they too will be destroyed.
Commentaries on Proverbs 30:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Surely I am more brutish - These words can in no sense, nor by any mode of speech, be true of Solomon: for while he was the wisest of men, he could not have said that he was more brutish than any man, and had not the understanding of a man. It is saying nothing to the purpose, to say he was so independently of the Divine teaching. Had he put this in, even by innuendo, it might be legitimate: but he does not; nor is it by fair implication to be understood…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2A confession of ignorance, with which compare the saying of Socrates that he was wise only so far as he knew that he knew nothing, or that of Asaph Psalm 73:22.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-3Agur admits he does not know everything (compare Psalm 73:22, where the psalmist calls himself senseless). The first step toward wisdom is admitting our ignorance.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-42-4. brutish--stupid, a strong term to denote his lowly self-estimation; or he may speak of such as his natural condition, as contrasted with God's all-seeing comprehensive knowledge and almighty power. The questions of this clause emphatically deny the attributes mentioned to be those of any creature, thus impressively strengthening the implied reference of the former to God (compare De 30:12-14; Is 40:12; Ep 4:8).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 30:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 30
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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