The punishment of unfilial conduct I. THE DENUNCIATION IS IN FIGURATIVE FORM . II. ITS FULFILMENT LITERALLY HAD BEEN A MATTER OF ACTUAL OBSERVATION . III. THE GENERAL TRUTH MUST BE CARRIED INTO THE LIGHT OF CONSCIENCE . On the whole, as Bishop Butler soundly taught, the constitution of things tends to punish evil and reward good conduct.—J. read more
There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not. The great point is the fourth, to which the three previous things lead up, all of them being alike in this, that they leave no trace. The facts are marvellous; Agur feels like Job, "I have uttered that which I understood not, things too wonderful for me, which I knew not" ( Job 42:3 ). read more
The mystery of love Agur sees four things that cannot be traced out. 1 . "The way of an eagle in the air." No track is followed by the king of birds as it cleaves the invisible fluid and takes its own wild course from crag to crag. 2 . "The way of a serpent upon a rock." Creeping out of a dark cranny, the reptile lies and basks on the hot stone, and then at the approach of an intruder darts into another cranny—its course unknown. 3 . "The way of a ship in the midst of the sea."... read more
A proverb concerning four inscrutable things, connected with the last by mention of the eagle. read more
The mystery of actions I. THERE ARE ACTIONS WHICH , LIKE THE FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE , OR THE PASSAGE OF THE SHIP , LEAVE NO VISIBLE TRACE BEHIND . What seems to strike the mind of the simple-hearted Agur is the fact that criminal deeds may be committed and, seemingly, leave as little trace behind. II. BUT THE MYSTERY AND SECRECY OF ALL ACTIONS ARE KNOWN TO GOD . We are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we have to... read more
The way of an eagle in the air. You cannot by any outward sign know that an eagle has passed this or that way. Wis. 5:11, "As when a bird hath flown through the air, there is no token of her way to be found," etc. The way of a serpent upon a rock. The snake's mode of progression by the lever-like motion of its ribs might well awake surprise, but the point is still the tracklessness of its course. On sand or soft ground its movements might be traced by the impression made. but this could... read more
This verse is a kind of gloss or illustration of the last thought of the preceding verse, and seems not to have formed an original part of the numerical proverb. It might well be placed in a parenthesis. Many commentators consider it to be an interpolation. Such is the way of an adulterous woman. What Agur had said of a man above, he now applies to the practised adulteress, whose sin cannot be traced. She eateth . This is a euphemism for the sin which she commits, "Stolen waters are sweet,... read more
For three things the earth is disquieted ; better, under three things the earth doth tremble , as if oppressed by an overwhelming borden. The form of expression does not allow us to think of an earthquake. "The earth" is equivalent to "the inhabitants thereof." And for four which it cannot bear; or, under four it cannot stand (comp. Amos 7:10 ). These four evils destroy the comfort of social life, uproot the bonds of society, and endanger the safety of a nation. read more
Then follows a proverb concerning four things which are intolerable, examples of incongruous associations or positions—two in the case of men, two in the case of women. read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 30:17
This is an independent proverb, only connected with the preceding by being founded on an allusion to an animal. The eye that mocketh at his father. The eye is named as the mind's instrument for expressing scorn and insubordination; it is the index to the inner feeling; and look may be as sinful as action. And despiseth to obey his mother ; i . e . holds obedience to his mother to be a thing of no importance whatever. The word translated "to obey" ( ליקהת ) is rendered by St.... read more