18 There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: 19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst [1] of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid. 20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness. 21 For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear: 22 For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat; 23 For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
24 There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding [2] wise: 25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; 26 The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; 27 The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; 28 The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.
29 There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going: 30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any; 31 A greyhound; [3] an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up. 32 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth. 33 Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
18 "There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: 19 the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a young woman. 20 "This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, 'I've done nothing wrong.' 21 "Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up: 22 a servant who becomes king, a godless fool who gets plenty to eat, 23 a contemptible woman who gets married, and a servant who displaces her mistress.
24 "Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: 25 Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; 26 hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; 27 locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; 28 a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings' palaces.
29 "There are three things that are stately in their stride, four that move with stately bearing: 30 a lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing; 31 a strutting rooster, a he-goat, and a king secure against revolt.
18 Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: 19 the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a virgin. 20 This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, "I have done no wrong." 21 Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot bear up: 22 a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is filled with food; 23 an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
24 Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise: 25 the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer; 26 the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs; 27 the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank; 28 the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings' palaces.
29 Three things are stately in their tread; four are stately in their stride: 30 the lion, which is mightiest among beasts and does not turn back before any; 31 the strutting rooster,
18 Three things amaze me, no, four things I'll never understand - 19 how an eagle flies so high in the sky, how a snake glides over a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, why adolescents act the way they do. 20 Here's how a prostitute operates: she has sex with her client, Takes a bath, then asks, "Who's next?" Four Intolerables 21 Three things are too much for even the earth to bear, yes, four things shake its foundations - 22 when the janitor becomes the boss, when a fool gets rich, 23 when a whore is voted "woman of the year," when a "girlfriend" replaces a faithful wife. Four Small Wonders
24 There are four small creatures, wisest of the wise they are - 25 ants - frail as they are, get plenty of food in for the winter; 26 marmots - vulnerable as they are, manage to arrange for rock-solid homes; 27 locusts - leaderless insects, yet they strip the field like an army regiment; 28 lizards - easy enough to catch, but they sneak past vigilant palace guards. Four Dignitaries
29 There are three solemn dignitaries, four that are impressive in their bearing - 30 a lion, king of the beasts, deferring to none; 31 a rooster, proud and strutting; a billy goat; a head of state in stately procession. 32 If you're dumb enough to call attention to yourself by offending people and making rude gestures, 33 Don't be surprised if someone bloodies your nose. Churned milk turns into butter; riled emotions turn into fist fights.
18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand: 19 The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin. 20 This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, "I have done no wickedness." 21 For three things the earth is perturbed, Yes, for four it cannot bear up: 22 For a servant when he reigns, A fool when he is filled with food, 23 A hateful woman when she is married, And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.
24 There are four things which are little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise: 25 The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer; 26 The rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags; 27 The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks; 28 The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings' palaces.
29 There are three things which are majestic in pace, Yes, four which are stately in walk: 30 A lion, which is mighty among beasts And does not turn away from any; 31 A greyhound, A male goat also, And a king whose troops are with him. 32 If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, Or if you have devised evil, put your hand on your mouth. 33 For as the churning of milk produces butter, And wringing the nose produces blood, So the forcing of wrath produces strife.
18 There are three things that amaze me- no, four things that I don't understand: 19 how 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. 20 An adulterous woman consumes a man, then wipes her mouth and says, "What's wrong with that?" 21 There are three things that make the earth tremble- no, four it cannot endure: 22 a slave who becomes a king, an overbearing fool who prospers, 23 a bitter woman who finally gets a husband, a servant girl who supplants her mistress.
24 There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise: 25 Ants-they aren't strong, but they store up food all summer. 26 Hyraxes -they aren't powerful, but they make their homes among the rocks. 27 Locusts-they have no king, but they march in formation. 28 Lizards-they are easy to catch, but they are found even in kings' palaces.
29 There are three things that walk with stately stride- no, four that strut about: 30 the lion, king of animals, who won't turn aside for anything, 31 the strutting rooster, the male goat, a king as he leads his army. 32 If you have been a fool by being proud or plotting evil, cover your mouth in shame. 33 As the beating of cream yields butter and striking the nose causes bleeding, so stirring up anger causes quarrels.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Proverbs 30:18-36
Commentary on Proverbs 30:18-20
(Read Proverbs 30:18-20)
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.
Commentary on Proverbs 30:21-28
(Read Proverbs 30:21-28)
Four things that are little, are yet to be admired. There are those who are poor in the world, and of small account, yet wise for their souls and another world.
Commentary on Proverbs 30:29-33
(Read Proverbs 30:29-33)
We may learn from animals to go well; also to keep our temper under all provocations. We must keep the evil thought in our minds from breaking out into evil speeches. We must not stir up the passions of others. Let nothing be said or done with violence, but every thing with softness and calmness. Alas, how often have we done foolishly in rising up against the Lord our King! Let us humble ourselves before him. And having found peace with Him, let us follow peace with all men.