Proverbs 30:8
in Proverbs 30Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Remove far from me falsehood and lies; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is needful for me:
KJV
Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 30
Commentary
9 notes on this verseTherefore, pay attention to yourself, poor man, pay attention, wealthy man; because there are trials in both poverty and riches. And therefore the Wise Man says: Do not give me riches or poverty, give me only what is sufficient for me. Because riches, like feasts, stretch the stomach and the mind with worries and anxieties. And therefore he asks to be established with what is necessary and sufficient: Lest, he says, being filled, I become a liar and say: Who sees me? But if I become poor, I will commit theft and swear in the name of the Lord (Ibid.).
This site's exposition
Two things I ask of You
on Proverbs 30:7-9
Agur asks two things before he dies: "Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion." The reasons are stated, having too much and denying the LORD, or becoming poor and stealing. It stands beside the request for daily bread at Matthew 6:11.
This site's exposition
Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me
Adam Clarke reads the first request against false shows of happiness and deceiving words, promises that fail when they come due. The second request asks for neither extreme of wealth. Ambrose of Milan sees trials in both poverty and riches, so the prayer asks only for enough.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Solomon says, "Give me neither beggary nor riches; give me only what is necessary and sufficient," lest being filled I should deny and say, Who sees me? Or being poor, I should steal and forswear the name of my God; thus representing riches as satiety, poverty as a complete lack of the necessities of life, and sufficiency as a state both free from want and without superfluity. Sufficiency varies, however, according to physical condition and present need.… In every case, care must be taken for a good table, yet without overstepping the limits of the actual need.
Surely you see that this sufficiency is not to be coveted for its own sake but to provide for health of body and for clothing which accords with one's personal dignity and which makes it possible for him to live with others honorably and respectably.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureDisputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Furthermore, Proverbs thirty: Give me neither riches nor beggary; and afterward: Lest compelled by want I steal and perjure the name of my God; but nothing pertains to evangelical perfection which the Wise Man wisely refuses: therefore etc. It can be said that those things …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Remove far from me vanity and lies,.... This is the "first" request, to be preserved from sin, in general; which is a vain, lying, and deceitful thing; promising pleasure, profit, liberty, and impunity, which it does not give.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Remove far from me vanity and lies - 1. שוא shav, all false shows, all false appearances of happiness, every vain expectation. Let me not set my heart on any thing that is not solid, true, durable, and eternal. 2. Lies, דבר כזב debar cazab, all words of deception, empty pretensions, false promises, uncertain dependences, and words that Fail; promises which, when they become due, are like bad bills; they are dishonored because they are found to be forged, or the drawer insolvent.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The order of the two requests is significant. The wise man’s prayer is first and chiefly, “truth in the inward parts,” the removal of all forms of falsehood, hollowness, hypocrisy. Neither poverty ... - The evil of the opposite extremes of social life is that in different ways they lead men to a false standard of duty, and so to that forgetfulness of God which passes into an absolute denial. Food convenient for me - literally, “give me for food the bread of my appointed portion.” The prayer foreshadows that which we have been taught by the Divine Wisdom: “Give us, day by day, our daily bread.”
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁ֤וְא׀ | shav' | deceitfulness | H7723 → | |
| וּֽדְבַר־ | udevar- | and a word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| כָּזָ֡ב | kazav | falsehood | H3577 → | 31 times |
| הַרְחֵ֬ק | harchek | put far away | H7368 → | 57 times |
| מִמֶּ֗נִּי | mimeni | from me | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| רֵ֣אשׁ | resh | poverty | H7389 → | 7 times |
| וָ֭עֹשֶׁר | vaosher | and wealth | H6239 → | 37 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּֽתֶּן־ | titen- | you give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִ֑י | li | to me | ||
| הַ֝טְרִיפֵ֗נִי | hatrifeni | let devour me | H2963 → | |
| לֶ֣חֶם | lechem | [the] food of | H3899 → | 298 times |
| חֻקִּֽי׃ | chuki | allotment my | H2706 → | 127 times |
שָׁ֤וְא׀deceitfulness
shav'H7723 →
וּֽדְבַר־and a word of
udevar-H1697 →1440 times
כָּזָ֡בfalsehood
kazavH3577 →31 times
הַרְחֵ֬קput far away
harchekH7368 →57 times
מִמֶּ֗נִּיfrom me
mimeniH4480 →1188 times
רֵ֣אשׁpoverty
reshH7389 →7 times
וָ֭עֹשֶׁרand wealth
vaosherH6239 →37 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּֽתֶּן־you give
titen-H5414 →2011 times
לִ֑יto me
li
הַ֝טְרִיפֵ֗נִיlet devour me
hatrifeniH2963 →
לֶ֣חֶם[the] food of
lechemH3899 →298 times
חֻקִּֽי׃allotment my
chukiH2706 →127 times
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
Matthew 6:33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
it leads to
- Luke 12:31
But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added unto you.
- Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
- John 6:27
Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of…
- Psalms 34:9–10
Fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing.
- Psalms 84:11–12
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- Luke 12:31
Through
Psalms 119:37Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.
it leads to
- 1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- Proverbs 4:25
Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead.
- Isaiah 33:15
He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—
- 1 John 2:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on 9 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, The Six Days of Creation; Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 130; Basil of Caesarea, THE LONG RULES 20; Bonaventure, Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 2; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.