Proverbs 30:15

Proverbs 30:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
• New International Version (NIV)“The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ they cry. “There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
• New King James Version (NKJV)The leech has two daughters— Give and Give! There are three things that are never satisfied, Four never say, “Enough!”:
• New Living Translation (NLT)The leech has two suckers that cry out, “More, more!” There are three things that are never satisfied— no, four that never say, “Enough!”:

Context of Proverbs 30:15

13There are those—how lofty are their eyes, how high their eyelids lift! 14There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind. The leech has two daughters: Give and Give. Three things are never satisfied; four never say, "Enough": 16Sheol, the barren womb, the land never satisfied with water, and the fire that never says, "Enough." 17The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.

Proverbs 30:15 word by word

לַֽעֲלוּקָ֨ה׀ שְׁתֵּ֥י בָנוֹת֮ הַ֤ב׀ הַ֥ב שָׁל֣וֹשׁ הֵ֭נָּה לֹ֣א תִשְׂבַּ֑עְנָה אַ֝רְבַּ֗ע לֹא־אָ֥מְרוּ הֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The horseleachעֲלוּקָה‛ălûqâh · leechH5936
• hath twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• Giveיָהַבyâhab · to giveH3051
• There are threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• are never satisfiedשָׂבֵעַώâba‛ ώâbêa‛ · to satisfyH7646
• fourאַרְבַּע'arba‛ 'arbâ‛âh · fourH702
• sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• enoughהוֹןhôn · substanceH1952

Cross-references for Proverbs 30:15

• Isaiah 57:3But you, draw near, sons of the sorceress, offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.
• Ezekiel 16:44"Behold, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: 'Like mother, like daughter.'
• Matthew 23:32Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
• John 8:39They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,
• Isaiah 56:11The dogs have a mighty appetite; they never have enough. But they are shepherds who have no understanding; they have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain, one and all.
• Hosea 4:18When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring; their rulers dearly love shame.
• Micah 7:3Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together.
• Romans 16:18For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
• 2 Peter 2:3And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
• Jude 1:11Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion.
• Proverbs 30:21Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot bear up:
• Proverbs 6:16There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
• Amos 1:3Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.
• Amos 2:1Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom.

Commentaries on Proverbs 30:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15The horseleech hath two daughters, crying, Give, give - "This horseleech," says Calmet, "is Covetousness, and her two daughters are Avarice and Ambition. They never say, It is enough; they are never satisfied; they are never contented." Many explanations have been given of this verse; but as all the versions agree in render ing עלוקה alukah the horseleech or blood-sucker, the general meaning collected has been, "There are persons so excessively covetous…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Note the numeration mounting to a climax, the two, the three, the four (Amos 1:3 etc.). The word rendered “horseleach” is found nowhere else, and its etymology is doubtful; but there are good grounds for taking the word in its literal sense, as giving an example, in the natural world, of the insatiable greed of which the next verse gives other instances. Its voracious appetite is here represented, to express its intensity, as two daughters, uttering the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-17Verses 15-17 Cruelty and covetousness are two daughters of the horseleech, that still cry, "Give, give," and they are continually uneasy to themselves. Four things never are satisfied, to which these devourers are compared. Those are never rich that are always coveting. And many who have come to a bad end, have owned that their wicked courses began by despising their parents' authority.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-16The number parallelism (three...four) is a method to list poetic examples. This list shows powers that are never satisfied and often dangerous. See also Proverbs 30:18–19, 21–23, 29–31. The grave, representing death, never seems to have enough—people keep dying (Proverbs 27:20). barren womb: Women unable to have children often long for them, like Sarah before Isaac, Rebekah before Esau and Jacob, and Hannah before Samuel. The thirsty desert and a fire…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-1615-16. horse leech--supposed by some to be the vampire (a fabulous creature), as being literally insatiable; but the other subjects mentioned must be taken as this, comparatively insatiable. The use of a fabulous creature agreeably to popular notions is not inconsistent with inspiration. There are three ... yea, four--(Compare Pr 6:16).Read the comment

Topics related to Proverbs 30:15

• Horse-Leech
• Riddle

In the dictionaries

• Agur
• Convenient
• Folk
• Food
• Hell
• Horseleech
• Four
• Horseleach
• Massa
• Night-Monster

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