Proverbs 30

Agur is a mystery sage, apparently from a land outside the Jewish homeland, scholars say. His message reads like a counterpoint to much of the rest of Proverbs, which praises wisdom. Agur downplays wisdom and puffs piety and humility, neither of which requires an advanced education.

Scholars are divided over what to do with “Massa.” Is it a man, since there’s no “of” in the original Hebrew? There’s a North African tribe by that name in Genesis 25:14. Is it a place, since Proverbs 31:1 seems to refer to a king from there: King Lemuel of Massa? Or does it mean “oracle,” a message inspired by God, as many Bible translators conclude? The words that follow, literally “The man declares,” is a rare Hebrew phrase that announces messages from God. It shows up in the story of a sage named Balaam and his talking donkey in Numbers 24:3, 15. And it shows up in a speech by King David in 2 Samuel 23:1.

Scholars debate how to translate the strange Hebrew text that is given here as “Here’s the message: I’m exhausted. Wiped out.” The original Hebrew text is like double talk. Some Bibles translate it as “to Ithiel, and to Ithiel and Ucal.” But some scholars say those are likely fake names in a phrase that makes no sense. As in, What’s up with two Ithiel’s? The Casual English Bible paraphrase joins translators guessing that the letters got jumbled along the way and needed to be put back in proper order. This is one guess about how the words may have been intended.

It’s hard to tell from the Hebrew who is cussing or putting a curse on the man: slave or slave owner.

Literally, Sheol, a word Old Testament writers used to describe the place of the dead. It is a kind of underworld where the dead are cut off from the living—and from God—and there is no coming back.