Proverbs 30:19

Proverbs 30:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin.

Context of Proverbs 30:19

17Punishment will come to anyone who insults his father, or who refuses to listen to his mother. Wild birds will pick out his eyes and vultures will eat his body. 18There are three things that are too difficult for me to understand, even four things: How an eagle flies high in the sky. How a snake moves across a rock. How a ship sails on the sea. How a man starts to love a young woman. 20A woman who is not faithful to her husband does this: When she has sex with another man, she thinks it is like a meal that she has eaten. Then she washes herself and she says, ‘I have not done anything wrong.’ That is something else that I cannot understand. 21There are three things that make the earth shake, even four things:

Proverbs 30:19 word by word

דֶּ֤רֶךְ הַנֶּ֨שֶׁר׀ בַּשָּׁמַיִם֮ דֶּ֥רֶךְ נָחָ֗שׁ עֲלֵ֫י צ֥וּר דֶּֽרֶךְ־אֳנִיָּ֥ה בְלֶב־יָ֑ם וְדֶ֖רֶךְ גֶּ֣בֶר בְּעַלְמָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: journeyH1870
• of an eagleנֶשֶׁרnesher · eagleH5404
• in the airשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• of a serpentנָחָשׁnâchâsh · serpentH5175
• upon a rockצוּרtsûr tsûr · rockH6697
• of a shipאֳנִיָּה'onîyâh · a shipH591
• in the midstלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• of the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• of a manגָּבֶרgeber · great manH1397
• with a maidעַלְמָה‛almâh · young womanH5959

Cross-references for Proverbs 30:19

• Job 39:27Do eagles wait for your command to fly high into the sky? No! You could not teach them how to build their nests high up in the mountains.
• Isaiah 40:31But people who wait for the Lord to help them will receive new strength. They will rise up high, as if they have the wings of eagles. They will run and they will not become tired. They will walk and they will not become weak.
• Exodus 22:16Perhaps a man may meet a young girl who has not had sex with any man before. He might deceive her to have sex with her. If she has not yet promised to marry another man, he must marry her. He must give the right gifts to her parents.

Commentaries on Proverbs 30:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19The way of an eagle - I borrow, with thanks, the very sensible note of the Rev. Mr. Holden on this passage. "The particle כן ken plainly shows that Proverbs 30:19; and Proverbs 30:20; are to be taken in connection; consequently, it is a comparison between the way of an adulterous woman, and the way of the things here described. "The adulterous woman goes about in search of her deluded victim, like as the eagle takes its flight into the air to spy out its…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18-20Verses 18-20 Another enigma. The four things of Proverbs 30:16 agreed in the common point of insatiableness; the four now mentioned agree in this, that they leave no trace behind them. Proverbs 30:19 The way of a man with a maid - The act of sin leaves no outward mark upon the sinners.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-20Verses 18-20 Four things cannot be fully known. The kingdom of nature is full of marvels. The fourth is a mystery of iniquity; the cursed arts by which a vile seducer gains the affections of a female; and the arts which a vile woman uses to conceal her wickedness.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-19The writer is amazed at how one thing affects another.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2018-20. Hypocrisy is illustrated by four examples of the concealment of all methods or traces of action, and a pertinent example of double dealing in actual vice is added, that is, the adulterous woman.Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 30:19

• Adultery
• Eagle
• Lasciviousness
• Riddle
• Serpent

In the dictionaries

• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Agur
• Convenient
• Folk
• Food
• Serpent
• Eagle
• Maid; Maiden
• Massa
• Proverbs, the Book of

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