English Standard Version
Proverbs 30:2
2Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not 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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Surely I am more stupid than any man, And do not have the understanding of a man.
- New Living Translation (NLT)I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense.
Context of Proverbs 30:2
1The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. The man declares, I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out. Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. 3I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. 4Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name? Surely you know!
Read all of Proverbs 30Proverbs 30:2 word by word
כִּ֤י בַ֣עַר אָנֹכִ֣י מֵאִ֑ישׁ וְלֹֽא־בִינַ֖ת אָדָ֣ם לִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 30:2
- Job 42:3'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
- Psalms 73:22I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.
- Isaiah 6:5And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"
- Romans 11:25Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
- 1 Corinthians 3:18Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
- 1 Corinthians 8:2If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.
- James 1:5If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
- Proverbs 5:12and you say, "How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
- Psalms 92:6The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this:
- Jeremiah 10:14Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them.
- 2 Peter 2:12But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction,
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries