Read the Bible
KING JAMES BIBLE · PCE

Proverbs 30:15–17

TEXT EDITION
Pure Cambridge Edition selected
The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.
Share
Email linkOpen a new message in your email app
Read chapterReport issue
More

PASSAGE SELECTION

Build from either side

3 selected · 30 available

Add or remove verses within this chapter. The study tools update with the selected passage.

SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE

Cross References

All 37 ranked passages are available for comparison.

From verse 15

  1. Proverbs 30:21Rank 1 from verse 15
    Open

    21For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:

  2. Proverbs 30:29Rank 2 from verse 15
    Open

    29There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:

  3. Proverbs 6:16Rank 3 from verse 15
    Open

    16¶ These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

  4. Romans 16:18Rank 4 from verse 15
    Open

    18For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

  5. 2 Peter 2:13–15Rank 5 from verse 15
    Open

    13And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

    14Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

    15Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

  6. 2 Peter 2:3Rank 6 from verse 15
    Open

    3And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

  7. Amos 1:11Rank 7 from verse 15
    Open

    11¶ Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

  8. John 8:39Rank 8 from verse 15
    Open

    39They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

  9. John 8:44Rank 9 from verse 15
    Open

    44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

  10. Jude 1:11–12Rank 10 from verse 15
    Open

    11Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

    12These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

  11. Amos 1:13Rank 11 from verse 15
    Open

    13¶ Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:

  12. Amos 1:3Rank 12 from verse 15
    Open

    3Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:

  13. Amos 1:6Rank 13 from verse 15
    Open

    6¶ Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:

  14. Amos 2:1Rank 14 from verse 15
    Open

    1THUS saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

  15. Amos 2:4Rank 15 from verse 15
    Open

    4¶ Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

  16. Matthew 23:32Rank 16 from verse 15
    Open

    32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

  17. Micah 7:3Rank 17 from verse 15
    Open

    3¶ That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.

  18. Proverbs 30:24Rank 18 from verse 15
    Open

    24There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:

  19. Amos 1:9Rank 19 from verse 15
    Open

    9¶ Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:

  20. Ezekiel 16:44–46Rank 20 from verse 15
    Open

    44¶ Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

    45Thou art thy mother’s daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

    46And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

  21. Hosea 4:18Rank 21 from verse 15
    Open

    18Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.

  22. Isaiah 56:11–12Rank 22 from verse 15
    Open

    11Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.

    12Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.

  23. Isaiah 57:3Rank 23 from verse 15
    Open

    3¶ But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.

From verse 16

  1. Proverbs 27:20Rank 1 from verse 16
    Open

    20Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

  2. Habakkuk 2:5Rank 2 from verse 16
    Open

    5¶ Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:

  3. Genesis 30:1Rank 3 from verse 16
    Open

    1AND when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

From verse 17

  1. Deuteronomy 21:18–21Rank 1 from verse 17
    Open

    18¶ If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:

    19Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;

    20And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.

    21And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

  2. Proverbs 23:22Rank 2 from verse 17
    Open

    22Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.

  3. Proverbs 30:11Rank 3 from verse 17
    Open

    11There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.

  4. 2 Samuel 18:14–17Rank 4 from verse 17
    Open

    14Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.

    15And ten young men that bare Joab’s armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.

    16And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel: for Joab held back the people.

    17And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.

  5. Leviticus 20:9Rank 5 from verse 17
    Open

    9¶ For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

  6. Genesis 9:21–27Rank 6 from verse 17
    Open

    21And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

    22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

    23And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.

    24And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

    25And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

    26And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

    27God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

  7. Proverbs 20:20Rank 7 from verse 17
    Open

    20Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

  8. 1 Samuel 17:44Rank 8 from verse 17
    Open

    44And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.

  9. 2 Samuel 21:10Rank 9 from verse 17
    Open

    10¶ And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

  10. Deuteronomy 28:26Rank 10 from verse 17
    Open

    26And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.

  11. 2 Samuel 18:9–10Rank 11 from verse 17
    Open

    9¶ And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.

    10And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.

WORDS IN THIS PASSAGE

Definitions

Open a word for its full definition and concordance.

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 30:15

COMBINED MEANING

never

↗

Sense 1: Not ever; at no time or in no case. Sense 2: In never so constructions, however or no matter how much.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

satisfied

↗

Past-tense or past-participial form of satisfy (to fill, content, supply sufficiently, or meet what is required).

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

yea

↗

1. Indeed, marking confirmation, emphasis, addition, continuation, or heightening of what is said; it may also emphasize a question. 2. Yes, expressing an affirmative answer or declaration.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

say

↗

Sense 1: To speak, declare, tell, or express. Sense 2: What is said.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 30:16

COMBINED MEANING

grave

↗

Sense 1: The place of the dead or of burial; a tomb, burial place, or pit. Sense 2: To cut, carve, or engrave. Sense 3: As an adjective, serious, sober, dignified, or worthy of respect.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

barren

↗

1. Unable to bear offspring. 2. Unproductive or unable to yield fruit or increase; desolate.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

womb

↗

Sense 1: The bodily place in a female where a child is conceived and carried before birth. Sense 2: A source pictured as such a place.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

earth

↗

Sense 1: The world in distinction from heaven. Sense 2: Dry land, ground, soil, or dust. Sense 3: A land, region, or its inhabitants.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

filled

↗

Past-tense, participial, or adjectival form of fill. Sense 1: To make full or occupy capacity. Sense 2: To satisfy. Sense 3: To occupy. Sense 4: To complete what is lacking.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

water

↗

Sense 1: The common liquid necessary for life. Sense 2: As a verb, to supply with water, irrigate, or cause to drink.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

fire

↗

Burning flame and heat that gives light, consumes, purifies, or destroys.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 30:17

COMBINED MEANING

eye

↗

Sense 1: The bodily organ of sight; by extension, sight or seeing. Sense 2: Regard, judgment, disposition, or watchful attention, expressed figuratively by the eye. Sense 3: A small opening, as the eye of a needle. Sense 4: To watch or regard.

Meaning drawn from: Direct Scripture definition · KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

father

↗

Sense 1: A male parent or begetter. Sense 2: An ancestor, forefather, founder, source, originator, chief, elder, or one bearing paternal authority and care. Sense 3: God as Father, including the Father of Jesus Christ and of those described as his children.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

obey

↗

To hear with submission and do what is commanded; to comply with authority or instruction.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

mother

↗

Sense 1: A female parent. Sense 2: Figuratively, a source, chief city, or maternal relation.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

shall

↗

An auxiliary verb expressing future action, intention, promise, command, requirement, or determination.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

out

↗

Outside, away from within, forth, absent, or no longer in a stated condition.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

young

↗

1. Early in life or growth. 2. Offspring or young persons or creatures.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

eat

↗

To take food into the body; to consume, devour, or waste away.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

READ THE PASSAGE

View in context

Suggested context · Proverbs 30:1–33

The selected passage is highlighted. Context is a study aid.

Read all 33 verses in Proverbs 30:1–33

30:1THE words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,

30:2Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.

30:3I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.

30:4Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?

30:5Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

30:6Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

30:7Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:

30:8Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:

30:9Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

30:10Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.

30:11There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.

30:12There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

30:13There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.

30:14There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

30:15The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:

Selected passage

30:16The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.

Selected passage

30:17The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

Selected passage

30:18There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:

30:19The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

30:20Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

30:21For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:

30:22For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;

30:23For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

30:24There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:

30:25The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

30:26The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;

30:27The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

30:28The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.

30:29There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:

30:30A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;

30:31A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.

30:32If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.

30:33Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

LOCAL PASTOR DIRECTORY

Ask a Pastor Near You

Enter a U.S. ZIP code to find nearby pastors committed to holding fast the faithful word.

Your ZIP is processed in this browser from local data. It is not sent to a ZIP lookup service or to a church. ZIP coordinates from GeoNames, licensed under CC BY 4.0.