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!’:
• English Standard Version (ESV)The leech has two daughters: Give and Give. Three things are never satisfied; four 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!”:

Context of Proverbs 30:15

13A certain kind of person looks around arrogantly and is conceited. 14A certain kind of person, whose teeth are like swords and whose jaws are ⌞like⌟ knives, devours oppressed people from the earth and people from among humanity. The bloodsucking leech has two daughters—“Give!” and “Give!” Three things are never satisfied. Four never say, “Enough!”: 16the grave, a barren womb, a land that never gets enough water, a fire that does not say, “Enough!” 17The eye that makes fun of a father and hates to obey a mother will be plucked out by ravens in the valley and eaten by young 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—come here, you children of witches, you descendants of adulterers and prostitutes!
• Ezekiel 16:44“ ‘Everyone who uses proverbs will speak the following saying against you: Like mother, like daughter.
• Matthew 23:32Go ahead, finish what your ancestors started!
• John 8:39The Jews replied to Jesus, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus told them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did.
• Isaiah 56:11These dogs have huge appetites. They are never full. They are the shepherds, but they don’t understand. All of them have turned to go their own ways. Each one seeks his own gain.
• Hosea 4:18When they’re done drinking their wine, they continue to have sex with the prostitutes. Their rulers dearly love to act shamefully.
• Micah 7:3Their hands are skilled in doing evil. Officials ask for gifts. Judges accept bribes. Powerful people dictate what they want. So they scheme together.
• Romans 16:18People like these are not serving Christ our Lord. They are serving their own desires. By their smooth talk and flattering words they deceive unsuspecting people.
• 2 Peter 2:3In their greed they will use good-sounding arguments to exploit you. The verdict against them from long ago is still in force, and their destruction is not asleep.
• Jude 1:11How horrible it will be for them! They have followed the path of Cain. They have rushed into Balaam’s error to make a profit. They have rebelled like Korah and destroyed themselves.
• Proverbs 30:21Three things cause the earth to tremble, even four it cannot bear up under:
• Proverbs 6:16There are six things that the Lord hates, even seven that are disgusting to him:
• Amos 1:3This is what the Lord says: Because Damascus has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime, I will not change my plans. The Arameans have crushed ⌞the people of⌟ Gilead with iron-spiked threshing sledges.
• Amos 2:1This is what the Lord says: Because Moab has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime, I will not change my plans. The Moabites have cremated Edom’s king.

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