Proverbs 30:18

Proverbs 30:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
• New International Version (NIV)“There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand:
• English Standard Version (ESV)Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand:
• New King James Version (NKJV)There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand:

Context of Proverbs 30:18

16the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing fire. 17The eye that mocks a father and despises a mother’s instructions will be plucked out by ravens of the valley and eaten by vultures. There are three things that amaze me— no, four things that I don’t understand: 19how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman. 20An adulterous woman consumes a man, then wipes her mouth and says, “What’s wrong with that?”

Proverbs 30:18 word by word

שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה הֵ֭מָּה נִפְלְא֣וּ מִמֶּ֑נִּי וְ֝אַרְבָּעָ֗ה לֹ֣א יְדַעְתִּֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• There be threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• are too wonderfulפָּלָאpâlâ' · to wonderH6381
• for me, yea, fourאַרְבַּע'arba‛ 'arbâ‛âh · fourH702
• which I knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045

Cross-references for Proverbs 30:18

• Job 42:3You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.
• Psalms 139:6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!

Commentaries on Proverbs 30:18

• 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 30:18

• Adultery
• Lasciviousness
• Riddle

In the dictionaries

• Agur
• Convenient
• Folk
• Food
• Serpent
• Four
• Massa
• Number
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Zoology

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