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:
• 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!”:
• 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

13those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful; 14those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among mankind. “The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ they cry. “There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’: 16the grave, the barren womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’ 17“The eye that mocks a father, that scorns an aged mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be 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 57:3“But you—come here, you children of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
• Ezekiel 16:44“ ‘Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.”
• Matthew 23:32Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!
• John 8:39“Abraham is our father,” they answered. “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did.
• Isaiah 56:11They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, they seek their own gain.
• Hosea 4:18Even when their drinks are gone, they continue their prostitution; their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
• Micah 7:3Both hands are skilled in doing evil; the ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire— they all conspire together.
• Romans 16:18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.
• 2 Peter 2:3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
• Jude 1:11Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.
• Proverbs 30:21“Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up:
• Proverbs 6:16There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:
• Amos 1:3This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not relent. Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth,
• Amos 2:1This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Moab, even for four, I will not relent. Because he burned to ashes the bones of 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