Proverbs 30:7

Proverbs 30:7, in plain English

Now Agur moves to his personal prayer: he's going to ask God for two specific things because he knows his life will end and he wants to get these right before that happens.

Why it's here

After all that admission of ignorance, Agur has clarity about what actually matters. He knows he's mortal—he's aware of death—and that focuses his priorities like nothing else. Notice he doesn't ask for success or wealth or power. He's asking for something deeper. His listeners would recognize this as the prayer of someone who's thought hard about what really counts.

Who's speaking

Agur, moving from confession to petition

Where it sits in the story

This echoes the Psalmists who pray urgently because they understand the shortness of life. It also connects to Jesus's teaching about storing up treasures in heaven rather than on earth. Real wisdom shows us what's worth asking for.

The scholarly reading

Agur transitions from theological exposition to personal petition, requesting two specific blessings from God before his death.

Language and setting

The shift from third-person wisdom exposition to first-person prayer marks a turn from didactic to devotional mode. The phrase šəʾēlâ (ask) implies both request and negotiation; Agur positions his prayers as reasonable petitions. The motif of praying 'before I die' (lipnê mûtî) creates urgency and finitude—a recognition that mortality limits opportunity for divine blessing. This prayer structure reflects the sapiential tradition's concern with living well within the constraints of human limitation, a theme that will flower in Ecclesiastes. The numbering system ('two things...three things...four things' appearing throughout the chapter) employs what scholars call 'numerical sayings' or ʿal-ken formulae, a literary pattern common in Northwest Semitic wisdom literature.

Voice

Agur, shifting from doctrinal statement to personal supplication.

Significance

This turn toward petitionary prayer reflects the trajectory throughout Proverbs whereby intellectual acknowledgment of divine wisdom must crystallize into existential surrender and personal request—a pattern that culminates in the New Testament's emphasis on asking, seeking, and knocking as the posture of prayer.

5Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

6Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.

7Two things I ask of You— do not refuse me before I die:

8Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.

9Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.

Read all of Proverbs 30 — A different voice — Agur, who says: I am too stupid to be a man. Then he writes some of the most brilliant observations in the entire book.