Proverbs 30:15-33
New Catholic Bible
VIII: Numerical Proverbs[a]
Insatiable Things[b]
15 The leech has two daughters,
each of whom demands, “Give! Give!”
There are three things that are never satisfied,
four that never say “Enough!”:
16 The netherworld and the barren womb,
the earth that is thirsty for water,
and fire that never says “Enough!”
Woe to the Wicked Son
17 The eye that mocks a father
or shows scorn to an aged mother
will be plucked out by the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.[c]
The Astounding Mystery of Generation
18 There are three things too wonderful for me to comprehend,
four that are beyond my understanding:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake over a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a maiden.[d]
“I Have Done Nothing Wrong”[e]
20 This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats, then wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done nothing wrong.”
The Insolence of the Newly Successful
21 There are three things that cause the earth to tremble,
indeed four things that it cannot endure:
22 a slave crowned as a king,
a fool gorged with food,
23 a hateful woman when she snares a husband,
and a servant girl when she supplants her mistress.
The Resourceful Little Ones[f]
24 There are four creatures among the tiniest on the earth
who are nevertheless exceedingly wise:
25 the ants, a species without strength,
yet they gather their food in the summer;
26 the rock-badgers, a species without power,
yet they make their home in the rocks;
27 the locusts, a species without a king,
yet they all march forth in formation;
28 the lizards, a species you can catch in your hands,
yet they are found in the palaces of kings.
The King, Majestic among Other Animals[g]
29 There are three creatures that are stately in their stride,
four that are stately as they walk:
30 the lion, the mightiest of wild animals,
who retreats from nothing;
31 the strutting rooster, the he-goat,[h]
and a king at the head of his army.
Silence Is Golden, Especially in Time of Anger
32 If you have been foolish enough to exalt yourself[i]
or if you have devised evil,
put your hand over your mouth.
33 For as churning the milk produces curds
and twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:15 These are termed “numerical proverbs” because they use numbers: There are three things . . . four . . .; these figures stand for a quantity that cannot be exactly counted. They propose a truth in a witty way that constitutes their charm (see also note on Prov 6:16-19). Some proverbs of another kind (vv. 17-20, 32-33) have slipped in like intruders in this short collection.
- Proverbs 30:15 Here we see presented the leech, model of the parasite. Then the proverb evokes the power of a desire that is never fulfilled. The netherworld is the abyss of death that ceaselessly swallows up human generations.
- Proverbs 30:17 See verse 11 and note on Prov 20:20.
- Proverbs 30:19 The way of a man with a maiden: an obscure saying that may mean how a man is born of a young woman (see Ps 139:13-18), or how the affection that draws a man to a young woman is awakened in him.
- Proverbs 30:20 A reader who has misunderstood the poetry in the preceding verses has added this reflection, which is closer to his moralizing preoccupations: the adulteress is cunning enough to camouflage her offense.
- Proverbs 30:24 The labor of the ant has already been cited, e.g., in Prov 6:6-8. The rock-badger, a small mammiferous savage, shows how to find shelter even if one is not among the powerful. In evoking the lizard, one is undoubtedly thinking of the courtesan of modest state who comes to sneak into the palace where she does nothing but gild herself in the king’s sunshine.
- Proverbs 30:29 Here we have a bit of popular irony before a ceremonial parade. True majesty is something else.
- Proverbs 30:31 He-goat: goats were used to lead flocks of sheep (see Jer 50:8; Dan 8:5).
- Proverbs 30:32 Exalt yourself: see condemnation of pride in Prov 8:13; 11:2; 16:18. Devised evil: see Prov 6:14; 16:27. Put your hand over your mouth: i.e., cease your plotting (see Job 21:5; 40:4).
