8 Vanity and a lying word put far from me, Poverty or wealth give not to me, Cause me to eat the bread of my portion,
but it is great gain -- the piety with contentment; for nothing did we bring into the world -- `it is' manifest that we are able to carry nothing out; but having food and raiment -- with these we shall suffice ourselves;
The way of falsehood turn aside from me And with Thy law favour me.
Only -- vanity `are' the low, a lie the high. In balances to go up they than vanity `are' lighter. Trust not in oppression, And in robbery become not vain, Wealth -- when it increaseth -- set not the heart.
and saying, `Men, why these things do ye? and we are men like-affected with you, proclaiming good news to you, from these vanities to turn unto the living God, who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and all the things in them;
and he saith to them, `Draw out, now, and bear to the director of the apartment;' and they bare.
And his allowance -- a continual allowance -- hath been given to him by the king of Babylon, the matter of a day in its day, till the day of his death -- all days of his life.
And the king Zedekiah commandeth, and they commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, also to give to him a cake of bread daily from the bakers' street, till the consumption of all the bread of the city, and Jeremiah dwelleth in the court of the prison.
Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, Vanity of vanities: the whole `is' vanity.
Whoso is sowing perverseness reapeth sorrow, And the rod of his anger weareth out.
Remove mine eyes from seeing vanity, In Thy way quicken Thou me.
The command of His lips, and I depart not. Above my allotted portion I have laid up The sayings of His mouth.
And the sons of Israel have eaten the manna forty years, until their coming in unto the land to be inhabited; the manna they have eaten till their coming in unto the extremity of the land of Canaan.
see, because Jehovah hath given to you the sabbath, therefore He is giving to you on the sixth day bread of two days; abide ye each `in' his place, no one doth go out from his place on the seventh day.'
And they gather it morning by morning, each according to his eating; when the sun hath been warm, then it hath melted. And it cometh to pass on the sixth day, they have gathered a second bread, two omers for one, and all the princes of the company come in, and declare to Moses.
and they measure with an omer, and he who is `gathering' much hath nothing over, and he who is `gathering' little hath no lack, each according to his eating they have gathered.
And the sons of Israel see, and say one unto another, `What `is' it?' for they have not known what it `is'; and Moses saith unto them, `It `is' the bread which Jehovah hath given to you for food.
And he blesseth Joseph, and saith, `God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked habitually: God who is feeding me from my being unto this day: the Messenger who is redeeming me from all evil doth bless the youths, and my name is called upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and they increase into a multitude in the midst of the land.'
And Jacob voweth a vow, saying, `Seeing God is with me, and hath kept me in this way which I am going, and hath given to me bread to eat, and a garment to put on --
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Proverbs 30
Commentary on Proverbs 30 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 30
This and the following chapter are an appendix to Solomon's proverbs; but they are both expressly called prophecies in the first verses of both, by which it appears that the penmen of them, whoever they were, were divinely inspired. This chapter was penned by one that bears the name of "Agur Ben Jakeh.' What tribe he was of, or when he lived, we are not told; what he wrote, being indited by the Holy Ghost, is here kept upon record. We have here,
Pro 30:1-6
Some make Agur to be not the name of this author, but his character; he was a collector (so it signifies), a gatherer, one that did not compose things himself, but collected the wise sayings and observations of others, made abstracts of the writings of others, which some think is the reason why he says (v. 3), "I have not learned wisdom myself, but have been a scribe, or amanuensis, to other wise and learned men.' Note, We must not bury our talent, though it be but one, but, as we have received the gift, so minister the same, if it be but to collect what others have written. But we rather suppose it to be his name, which, no doubt, was well known then, though not mentioned elsewhere in scripture. Ithiel and Ucal are mentioned, either,
Three things the prophet here aims at:-
Pro 30:7-9
After Agur's confession and creed, here follows his litany, where we may observe,
Pro 30:10-14
Here is,
Pro 30:15-17
He had spoken before of those that devoured the poor (v. 14), and had spoken of them last, as the worst of all the four generations there mentioned; now here he speaks of their insatiableness in doing this. The temper that puts them upon it is made up of cruelty and covetousness. Now those are two daughters of the horse-leech, its genuine offspring, that still cry, "Give, give, give more blood, give more money;' for the bloody are still blood-thirsty; being drunk with blood, they add thirst to their drunkenness, and will seek it yet again. Those also that love silver shall never be satisfied with silver. Thus, while from these two principles they are devouring the poor, they are continually uneasy to themselves, as David's enemies, Ps. 59:14, 15. Now, for the further illustration of this,
Pro 30:18-23
Here is,
Pro 30:24-28
Pro 30:29-33
Here is,