Proverbs 30:21-28
Proverbs 30:21-28 The Message (MSG)
Three things are too much for even the earth to bear, yes, four things shake its foundations— when the janitor becomes the boss, when a fool gets rich, when a prostitute is voted “woman of the year,” when a “girlfriend” replaces a faithful wife. There are four small creatures, wisest of the wise they are
Proverbs 30:21-28 King James Version (KJV)
For three things the earth is disquieted, And for four which it cannot bear: For a servant when he reigneth; And a fool when he is filled with meat; For an odious woman when she is married; And an handmaid that is heir to her mistress. There be four things which are little upon the earth, But they are exceeding wise: The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their meat in the summer; The conies are but a feeble folk, Yet make they their houses in the rocks; The locusts have no king, Yet go they forth all of them by bands; The spider taketh hold with her hands, And is in kings' palaces.
Proverbs 30:21-28 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Under three things the earth quakes, And under four, it cannot bear up: Under a slave when he becomes king, And a fool when he is satisfied with food, Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband, And a maidservant when she supplants her mistress. Four things are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise: The ants are not a strong people, But they prepare their food in the summer; The shephanim are not mighty people, Yet they make their houses in the rocks; The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in ranks; The lizard you may grasp with the hands, Yet it is in kings’ palaces.
Proverbs 30:21-28 New Century Version (NCV)
“There are three things that make the earth tremble, really four it cannot stand: a servant who becomes a king, a foolish person who has plenty to eat, a hated woman who gets married, and a maid who replaces her mistress. “There are four things on earth that are small, but they are very wise: Ants are not very strong, but they store up food in the summer. Rock badgers are not very powerful, but they can live among the rocks. Locusts have no king, but they all go forward in formation. Lizards can be caught in the hand, but they are found even in kings’ palaces.
Proverbs 30:21-28 American Standard Version (ASV)
For three things the earth doth tremble, And for four, which it cannot bear: For a servant when he is king; And a fool when he is filled with food; For an odious woman when she is married; And a handmaid that is heir to her mistress. There are four things which are little upon the earth, But they are exceeding wise: The ants are a people not strong, Yet they provide their food in the summer; The conies are but a feeble folk, Yet make they their houses in the rocks; The locusts have no king, Yet go they forth all of them by bands; The lizard taketh hold with her hands, Yet is she in kings’ palaces.
Proverbs 30:21-28 New International Version (NIV)
“Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up: a servant who becomes king, a godless fool who gets plenty to eat, a contemptible woman who gets married, and a servant who displaces her mistress. “Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
Proverbs 30:21-28 New King James Version (NKJV)
For three things the earth is perturbed, Yes, for four it cannot bear up: For a servant when he reigns, A fool when he is filled with food, A hateful woman when she is married, And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress. There are four things which are little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise: The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer; The rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags; The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks; The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings’ palaces.
Proverbs 30:21-28 Amplified Bible (AMP)
¶Under three things the earth is disquieted and quakes, And under four it cannot bear up: Under a servant when he reigns, Under a [spiritually blind] fool when he is filled with food, Under an unloved woman when she gets married, And under a maidservant when she supplants her mistress. ¶There are four things that are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise: The ants are not a strong people, Yet they prepare their food in the summer; [Prov 6:6] The shephanim are not a mighty folk, Yet they make their houses in the rocks; [Ps 104:18] The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in groups; You may grasp the lizard with your hands, Yet it is in kings’ palaces.
Proverbs 30:21-28 New Living Translation (NLT)
There are three things that make the earth tremble— no, four it cannot endure: a slave who becomes a king, an overbearing fool who prospers, a bitter woman who finally gets a husband, a servant girl who supplants her mistress. There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise: Ants—they aren’t strong, but they store up food all summer. Hyraxes—they aren’t powerful, but they make their homes among the rocks. Locusts—they have no king, but they march in formation. Lizards—they are easy to catch, but they are found even in kings’ palaces.
Proverbs 30:21-28 The Passion Translation (TPT)
There are four intolerable events that are simply unbearable to observe: when an unfaithful servant becomes a ruler, when a scoundrel comes into great wealth, when an unfaithful woman marries a good man, and when a mistress replaces a faithful wife. The earth has four creatures that are very small but very wise: The feeble ant has little strength, yet look how it diligently gathers its food in the summer to last throughout the winter. The delicate rock-badger isn’t all that strong, yet look how it makes a secure home, nestled in the rocks. The locusts have no king to lead them, yet they cooperate as they move forward by bands. And the small lizard is easy to catch as it clings to the walls with its hands, yet it can be found inside a king’s palace.
Proverbs 30:21-28 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot bear up: a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is filled with food; an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress. Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise: the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer; the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs; the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank; the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.