| 2 ἀφρονέστατος γάρ εἰμι πάντων ἀνθρώπων καὶ φρόνησις ἀνθρώπων οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἐμοί 3 θεὸς δεδίδαχέν με σοφίαν καὶ γνῶσιν ἁγίων ἔγνωκα 4 τίς ἀνέβη εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ κατέβη τίς συνήγαγεν ἀνέμους ἐν κόλπῳ τίς συνέστρεψεν ὕδωρ ἐν ἱματίῳ τίς ἐκράτησεν πάντων τῶν ἄκρων τῆς γῆς τί ὄνομα αὐτῷ ἢ τί ὄνομα τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτοῦ ἵνα γνῷς |
2 What though I be ignorant, beyond human wont? 3 What though the knowledge of man has passed me by, wisdom’s dull pupil, without skill in holy lore? 4 Who may he be that has scaled heaven, and come back to tell its secrets; held the winds in the hollow of his hand, wrapped away the storm-clouds under his mantle, fixed the bounds of earth? Tell me his name; tell me, if thou canst, where son of his may be found? |
2
Stultissimus sum virorum,
et sapientia hominum non est mecum. 3
Non didici sapientiam,
et non novi scientiam sanctorum. 4
Quis ascendit in cælum, atque descendit?
quis continuit spiritum in manibus suis?
quis colligavit aquas quasi in vestimento?
quis suscitavit omnes terminos terræ?
quod nomen est ejus, et quod nomen filii ejus, si nosti? |
| 7 δύο αἰτοῦμαι παρὰ σοῦ μὴ ἀφέλῃς μου χάριν πρὸ τοῦ ἀποθανεῖν με 8 μάταιον λόγον καὶ ψευδῆ μακράν μου ποίησον πλοῦτον δὲ καὶ πενίαν μή μοι δῷς σύνταξον δέ μοι τὰ δέοντα καὶ τὰ αὐτάρκη 9 ἵνα μὴ πλησθεὶς ψευδὴς γένωμαι καὶ εἴπω τίς με ὁρᾷ ἢ πενηθεὶς κλέψω καὶ ὀμόσω τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ θεοῦ |
7 Two requests I would make of thee; be they mine while life lasts. 8 Keep my thoughts ever far from treachery and lying; and for my state of life, be neither poverty mine nor riches. Grant me only the livelihood I need; 9 so shall not abundance tempt me to disown thee, and doubt if Lord there be, nor want bid me steal, and dishonour my God’s name with perjury. |
7
Duo rogavi te:
ne deneges mihi antequam moriar: 8
vanitatem et verba mendacia longe fac a me;
mendicitatem et divitias ne dederis mihi:
tribue tantum victui meo necessaria, 9
ne forte satiatus illiciar ad negandum,
et dicam: Quis est Dominus?
aut egestate compulsus, furer,
et perjurem nomen Dei mei. |
| 11 ἔκγονον κακὸν πατέρα καταρᾶται τὴν δὲ μητέρα οὐκ εὐλογεῖ 12 ἔκγονον κακὸν δίκαιον ἑαυτὸν κρίνει τὴν δὲ ἔξοδον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀπένιψεν 13 ἔκγονον κακὸν ὑψηλοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχει τοῖς δὲ βλεφάροις αὐτοῦ ἐπαίρεται 14 ἔκγονον κακὸν μαχαίρας τοὺς ὀδόντας ἔχει καὶ τὰς μύλας τομίδας ὥστε ἀναλίσκειν καὶ κατεσθίειν τοὺς ταπεινοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ τοὺς πένητας αὐτῶν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων |
11 A bad breed it is, that curse their fathers and for their mothers have no good word. 12 A bad breed, that owns no blot, yet is all unpurged from its defilement. 13 A bad breed, all haughty looks and scornful brow. 14 A bad breed, that has teeth sharp as swords, jaws that grind slowly on, till poor folk none are left, their friendless neighbours. |
11
Generatio quæ patri suo maledicit,
et quæ matri suæ non benedicit; 12
generatio quæ sibi munda videtur,
et tamen non est lota a sordibus suis; 13
generatio cujus excelsi sunt oculi,
et palpebræ ejus in alta surrectæ; 14
generatio quæ pro dentibus gladios habet,
et commandit molaribus suis,
ut comedat inopes de terra,
et pauperes ex hominibus. |
| 15 τῇ βδέλλῃ τρεῖς θυγατέρες ἦσαν ἀγαπήσει ἀγαπώμεναι καὶ αἱ τρεῖς αὗται οὐκ ἐνεπίμπλασαν αὐτήν καὶ ἡ τετάρτη οὐκ ἠρκέσθη εἰπεῖν ἱκανόν 16 ᾅδης καὶ ἔρως γυναικὸς καὶ τάρταρος καὶ γῆ οὐκ ἐμπιπλαμένη ὕδατος καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ πῦρ οὐ μὴ εἴπωσιν ἀρκεῖ |
15 Two sisters there are, men say, brood of the leech, that still cry, Give us more, give us more! But stay, there is a third Insatiable; nay, a fourth I can name that never says, Enough! 16 The grave, and the barren womb, and earth that soaks up the rain, and fire; did fire ever say, Enough? |
15
Sanguisugæ duæ sunt filiæ,
dicentes: Affer, affer.
Tria sunt insaturabilia,
et quartum quod numquam dicit: Sufficit. 16
Infernus, et os vulvæ,
et terra quæ non satiatur aqua:
ignis vero numquam dicit: Sufficit. |
| 18 τρία δέ ἐστιν ἀδύνατά μοι νοῆσαι καὶ τὸ τέταρτον οὐκ ἐπιγινώσκω 19 ἴχνη ἀετοῦ πετομένου καὶ ὁδοὺς ὄφεως ἐπὶ πέτρας καὶ τρίβους νηὸς ποντοπορούσης καὶ ὁδοὺς ἀνδρὸς ἐν νεότητι 20 τοιαύτη ὁδὸς γυναικὸς μοιχαλίδος ἥ ὅταν πράξῃ ἀπονιψαμένη οὐδέν φησιν πεπραχέναι ἄτοπον |
18 Three mysteries there are too high for me, and a fourth is beyond my ken; 19 eagle that flies in air, viper that crawls on rock, ship that sails the sea, and man that goes courting maid.[3] 20 Nor less I marvel at wanton wife that licks her greedy lips, and will have it that she did no harm. |
18
Tria sunt difficilia mihi,
et quartum penitus ignoro: 19
viam aquilæ in cælo,
viam colubri super petram,
viam navis in medio mari,
et viam viri in adolescentia. 20
Talis est et via mulieris adulteræ,
quæ comedit, et tergens os suum
dicit: Non sum operata malum. |
| 21 διὰ τριῶν σείεται ἡ γῆ τὸ δὲ τέταρτον οὐ δύναται φέρειν 22 ἐὰν οἰκέτης βασιλεύσῃ καὶ ἄφρων πλησθῇ σιτίων 23 καὶ οἰκέτις ἐὰν ἐκβάλῃ τὴν ἑαυτῆς κυρίαν καὶ μισητὴ γυνὴ ἐὰν τύχῃ ἀνδρὸς ἀγαθοῦ |
21 Three sights there are set earth trembling, and a fourth it cannot endure; 22 slave turned king, churl full fed, 23 a scold married, and a maid that supplants[4] her mistress. |
21
Per tria movetur terra,
et quartum non potest sustinere: 22
per servum, cum regnaverit;
per stultum, cum saturatus fuerit cibo; 23
per odiosam mulierem, cum in matrimonio fuerit assumpta;
et per ancillam, cum fuerit hæres dominæ suæ. |
| 24 τέσσαρα δέ ἐστιν ἐλάχιστα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ταῦτα δέ ἐστιν σοφώτερα τῶν σοφῶν 25 οἱ μύρμηκες οἷς μὴ ἔστιν ἰσχὺς καὶ ἑτοιμάζονται θέρους τὴν τροφήν 26 καὶ οἱ χοιρογρύλλιοι ἔθνος οὐκ ἰσχυρόν οἳ ἐποιήσαντο ἐν πέτραις τοὺς ἑαυτῶν οἴκους 27 ἀβασίλευτόν ἐστιν ἡ ἀκρὶς καὶ ἐκστρατεύει ἀ{F'} ἑνὸς κελεύσματος εὐτάκτως 28 καὶ καλαβώτης χερσὶν ἐρειδόμενος καὶ εὐάλωτος ὢν κατοικεῖ ἐν ὀχυρώμασιν βασιλέως |
24 Of four little things in nature, wise men cannot match the skill. 25 How puny a race the ants, that hoard their food in harvest time; 26 how defenceless the rock-rabbits, that hide their burrows in the clefts! 27 No prince have the locusts, yet ever they march in rank; 28 the lizard climbs high, and makes its home in the palaces of kings. |
24
Quatuor sunt minima terræ,
et ipsa sunt sapientiora sapientibus: 25
formicæ, populus infirmus,
qui præparat in messe cibum sibi; 26
lepusculus, plebs invalida,
qui collocat in petra cubile suum; 27
regem locusta non habet,
et egreditur universa per turmas suas; 28
stellio manibus nititur,
et moratur in ædibus regis. |
| 29 τρία δέ ἐστιν ἃ εὐόδως πορεύεται καὶ τὸ τέταρτον ὃ καλῶς διαβαίνει 30 σκύμνος λέοντος ἰσχυρότερος κτηνῶν ὃς οὐκ ἀποστρέφεται οὐδὲ καταπτήσσει κτῆνος 31 καὶ ἀλέκτωρ ἐμπεριπατῶν θηλείαις εὔψυχος καὶ τράγος ἡγούμενος αἰπολίου καὶ βασιλεὺς δημηγορῶν ἐν ἔθνει |
29 Three creatures there are that walk majestically, and a fourth goes proudly on his way; 30 bravest of beasts, the lion, that fears no encounter, 31 the cock (Loins-girt they call him),[5] and the ram; and the king, too, for who can say him nay? |
29
Tria sunt quæ bene gradiuntur,
et quartum quod incedit feliciter: 30
leo, fortissimus bestiarum,
ad nullius pavebit occursum; 31
gallus succinctus lumbos;
et aries; nec est rex, qui resistat ei. |
[1] The Latin version here translates the two proper names, Agur and Jacé, as ‘He who gathers’ and ‘He who vomits’. The latter part of the verse is wholly obscure, and is generally thought to include more proper names, Ithiel and Ucal. It is not clear whether Agur’s prophecy forms a part or the whole of this chapter.
[2] See Ps. 17.31.
[3] The fourth mystery is given in the Hebrew text as ‘the way of a man with a maid’; the Latin version, evidently in the same sense, has ‘the way of a man in his manhood’.
[4] Literally, according to the Latin, ‘inherits from’, but the other sense of the Hebrew verb is clearly more appropriate.
[5] The second majestic beast is given in the Hebrew text simply as ‘the girt of loins’, and cannot be certainly identified. The greyhound, or some other creature with a thin waist, seems more likely than the cock.
[6] ‘Thrusts himself forward’ appears to be the sense of the Hebrew verb here, which is rendered in the Latin ‘meets with advancement’.
Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd