Proverbs 30:19
in Proverbs 30the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship at sea, and the way of a man with a maiden.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The way of an eagle in the air; The way of a serpent upon a rock; The way of a ship in the midst of the sea; And the way of a man with a maiden.
KJV
The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.
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This verse in Proverbs 30
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAn eagle and a ship and a serpent are not of one family and nature but of a distinguishable and different substance, and yet they are three. On the testimony of Scripture, therefore, [the Arians] learn that their arguments are against themselves.Therefore, in saying that the substance of the Father and of the Son is diverse and their Godhead distinguishable, [the Arians] themselves assert there are two gods. But we, when we confess the Father and the Son, in declaring them still to be of one Godhead, say that there are not two gods but one God.
This site's exposition
There are three things too wonderful for me
on Proverbs 30:18-20
Agur names four ways too wonderful for him, an eagle in the sky, a snake on a rock, a ship at sea, and a man with a maiden, four paths that leave no trace. Verse 20 turns the saying on the adulteress, who eats, wipes her mouth, and says she has done nothing wrong. What is wonder in nature becomes moral evasion in a woman who treats sin as leaving no mark.
This site's exposition
the way of an eagle in the sky
Clarke reads the four ways of verse 19 with the way of the adulteress in verse 20. Barnes says that sin leaves no outward mark. Origen sets the snake's untraceable path on a rock beside the rock of the church.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Neither against the rock on which Christ builds the church nor against the church will the gates of hades prevail; just as the way of a serpent upon a rock, according to what is written in the Proverbs, cannot be found. Now, if the gates of hades prevail against any one, such cannot be a rock upon which Christ builds the church.
For as a serpent cannot mark its track upon a rock, so the devil could not find sin in the body of Christ. For the Lord says, "Behold, the prince of this world cometh, and will find nothing in me." -For as a ship, sailing in the sea, leaves no traces of her way behind her, so neither does the Church, which is situate in the world as in a sea, leave her hope upon the earth, because she has her life reserved in heaven; and as she holds her way here only for a short time, it is not possible to trace out her course.-As the Church does not leave her hope behind in the world, her hope in the incarnation of Christ which bears us all good, she did not leave the track of death in Hades.-Of whom but of Him who is born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin?-who, in renewing the perfect man in the world, works miracles, beginning from the baptism of John, as the Evangelist also testifies: And Jesus was then beginning to be about thirty years of age. This, then, was the youthful and blooming period of the age of Him who, in journeying among the cities and districts, healed the diseases and infirmities of men.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Most incomprehensible is wisdom that travels along roads that are beyond investigation. Concerning this, it is said in Proverbs: "Three things are too wonderful for me, yes, four I cannot understand: the way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The way of an eagle in the air,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The way of an eagle - I borrow, with thanks, the very sensible note of the Rev. Mr. Holden on this passage. “The particle כן ken plainly shows that Pro 30:19 and Pro 30:20 are to be taken in connection; consequently, it is a comparison between the way of an adulterous woman, and the way of the things here described. “The adulterous woman goes about in search of her deluded victim, like as the eagle takes its flight into the air to spy out its prey.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Hypocrisy is illustrated by four examples of the concealment of all methods or traces of action, and a pertinent example of double dealing in actual vice is added, that is, the adulterous woman.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דֶּ֤רֶךְ | derekh | [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| הַנֶּ֨שֶׁר׀ | hanesher | the eagle | H5404 → | 26 times |
| בַּשָּׁמַיִם֮ | bashamayim | in the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| דֶּ֥רֶךְ | derekh | [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| נָחָ֗שׁ | nachash | a snake | H5175 → | |
| עֲלֵ֫י | ʾalei | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| צ֥וּר | tzur | a rock | H6697 → | |
| דֶּֽרֶךְ־ | derekh- | [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אֳנִיָּ֥ה | ʾoniyah | a ship | H591 → | |
| בְלֶב־ | velev- | in [the] heart of | H3820 → | 595 times |
| יָ֑ם | yam | [the] sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| וְדֶ֖רֶךְ | vederekh | and [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| גֶּ֣בֶר | gever | a man | H1397 → | 65 times |
| בְּעַלְמָֽה׃ | bealmah | with a young woman | H5959 → |
דֶּ֤רֶךְ[the] way of
derekhH1870 →707 times
הַנֶּ֨שֶׁר׀the eagle
hanesherH5404 →26 times
בַּשָּׁמַיִם֮in the heavens
bashamayimH8064 →421 times
דֶּ֥רֶךְ[the] way of
derekhH1870 →707 times
נָחָ֗שׁa snake
nachashH5175 →
עֲלֵ֫יon
ʾaleiH5921 →5755 times
צ֥וּרa rock
tzurH6697 →
דֶּֽרֶךְ־[the] way of
derekh-H1870 →707 times
אֳנִיָּ֥הa ship
ʾoniyahH591 →
בְלֶב־in [the] heart of
velev-H3820 →595 times
יָ֑ם[the] sea
yamH3220 →396 times
וְדֶ֖רֶךְand [the] way of
vederekhH1870 →707 times
גֶּ֣בֶרa man
geverH1397 →65 times
בְּעַלְמָֽה׃with a young woman
bealmahH5959 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 40:31But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
it leads to
- Lamentations 3:25–26
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
- 2 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
- Psalms 27:13–14
Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
- Psalms 103:5
who satisfies you with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9–10
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of…
- Lamentations 3:25–26
Through
Exodus 22:16If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged in marriage and sleeps with her, he must pay the full dowry for her to be his wife.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 22:28–29
If a man encounters a virgin who is not pledged in marriage, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are discovered,
- Deuteronomy 22:28–29
Through
Job 39:27Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?
it leads to
- Obadiah 1:4
Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 49:16
The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the…
- Obadiah 1:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.3.40-41; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8; Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus Exegetical Fragments; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 12:11.