Proverbs 30:7

Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Two	שְׁ֭תַּיִם She.ta.yim	H8147	two · cardinal number, feminine dual absolute
required	שָׁאַ֣לְתִּי sha.'Al.ti	H7592	to inquire · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
deny	תִּמְנַ֥ע tim.Na'	H4513	to debar (negatively or positively) from benefit or inj… · verb, qal jussive, 2nd person masculine singular
die	אָמֽוּת 'a.Mut	H4191	to die (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Psalms 27:4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold t…
Luke 10:42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
2 Kings 2:9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee.…
1 Kings 3:5-9 In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
Psalms 21:2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 30:7-9

After Agur's confession and creed, here follows his litany, where we may observe, I. The preface to his prayer: Two things have I required (that is, requested) of thee, O God! Before we go to pray it is good to consider what we need, and what the things are which we have to ask of God. - What does our case require? What do our hearts desire? What would we that God should do for us? - that we may not have to seek for our petition and request when we should be presenting it. He begs, Deny me not before I die. In praying, we should think of dying, and pray accordingly. "Lord, give me pardon, and peace, and grace, before I die, before I go hence and be no more; for, if I be not renewed and sanct…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 30:7

A prayer for exemption from wickedness, and the extremes of poverty and riches, the two things mentioned. Contentment is implied as desired.

John Gill on Proverbs 30:7

Two things have I required of thee,.... Or, "have asked of thee (a), O God"; as may be supplied, for the words are addressed to him. The following is a prayer made unto him, which contains the two requests here referred to; his requests are not many, his words are few; he did not make long prayers, or expect to be heard for much speaking; deny me them not before I die; not that he thought he was near his end; nor is it his sense that he desired some time or other, at least before he died, that he might have these two requests granted him after mentioned; for what are poverty and riches, or convenient food, to a man just dying? but his meaning is, that he might be thus favoured as long as he…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 30:7-9

In what now follows, the key-note struck in Pro 30:1 is continued. There follows a prayer to be kept in the truth, and to be preserved in the middle state, between poverty and riches. It is a Mashal-ode, vid., vol. i. p. 12. By the first prayer, "vanity and lies keep far from me," it is connected with the warning of Pro 30:6. 7 Two things I entreat from Thee, Refuse them not to me before I die. 8 Vanity and lies keep far away from me Poverty and riches give me not: Cause me to eat the bread which is allotted to me, 9 Lest in satiety I deny, And say: Who is Jahve? And lest, in becoming poor, I steal, And profane the name of my God. We begin with the settlement and explanation of the tradition…

The Church Fathers

I have asked two things of you, do not deny them to me, etc. These things still a man with whom God is, his speech radiated by fire, addresses to the Lord himself with a converted voice, beseeching that he may never prefer the unity of the world or lying words to the truth of the heavenly Scripture; nor again, either through abundance or lack of passing things, may he fall into oblivion of eternal things.
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Agur — Gatherer; the collector, mentioned as author of the sayings in Prov. 30. Nothing is known of him beyond what is there recorded.
Blasphemy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Proverbs 30:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 30:7-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 30:7

John Gill on Proverbs 30:7

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 30:7-9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 30:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 30:7-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 30:7

John Gill on Proverbs 30:7

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 30:7-9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 30:7-9

Rashi on Proverbs 30:7