Tree of Life Version
Proverbs 30:2
2“Surely I am more stupid than any man and do not have a man’s understanding.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Surely I am more stupid than any man, And do not have the understanding of a man.
Context of Proverbs 30:2
1The words of Agur son of Jakeh— an oracle this man declared to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ucal: “Surely I am more stupid than any man and do not have a man’s understanding. 3I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. 4Who has gone up into heaven, and come down? Who has gathered the wind in the palm of His hand? Who has wrapped the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name and what is the name of His son—if 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 42:3You ask, ‘Who is this, who darkens counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke without understanding, things too wonderful for me which I did not know.
- Psalms 73:22I was brutish and ignorant. I was like a beast before You.
- Isaiah 6:5Then I said: “Oy to me! For I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I am dwelling among a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot!”
- Romans 11:25For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be ignorant of this mystery—lest you be wise in your own eyes—that 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 thinks he is wise in this age, let him become a fool so he may become wise.
- 1 Corinthians 8:2If anyone thinks he knows anything, he doesn’t yet know as he ought to know.
- James 1:5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all without hesitation and without reproach; and it will be given to him.
- Proverbs 5:12and you will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned reproof!
- Psalms 92:6How great are Your works, Adonai! How profound are Your thoughts!
- Jeremiah 10:14Everyone is stupid, ignorant. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idol! His molten image is a fraud. There is no breath in them.
- 2 Peter 2:12But these people are like irrational animals—creatures of instinct born to be captured and killed. They malign what they don’t understand, and in their destruction they will be utterly destroyed.
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
Tree of Life Version — © 2015 The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
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