Proverbs 30:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank;

NIV: locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks;

NASB: The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in ranks;

CSB: locusts have no king, yet all of them march in ranks;

NLT: Locusts — they have no king, but they march in formation.

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

NKJV: The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks;

The world typically thinks small or unimportant things are irrelevant. Agur (Proverbs 30:1) has been noting several counterexamples. Each is humble, in its own way, yet achieves something impressive (Proverbs 30:24). This corelates with the idea that God can use things dismissed by the world to further His will (1 Corinthians 1:27–28). Tiny ants gather food and survive from generation to generation. Hyraxes live in the cliffs and rocks humans run to for shelter.

Now, the given example is the locust. A locust swarm has no meaningful leadership. There is no leading them, yet they can advance and "conquer" lands as a unified army. When humans organize to march in lines, the space between each man is closed. A horde of locusts also moves shoulder-to-shoulder, or so it seems. In the ancient world, military tactics greatly relied on men moving as a single unit. The locust swarm's devastation is the ultimate example of a single "unit" made powerful by the combined action of many members.

Locusts are also mentioned by the prophet Joel (Joel 1:4). He describes the locusts coming in waves, utterly destroying the crops. He describes a swarm so massive that it blocks out the sun (Joel 2:2, 10). That same passage compares the movement of the locusts to that of a well-organized army (Joel 2:4–5). God used the destructive power of locusts as one of the plagues against Egypt (Exodus 10:3–6). Revelation 9:7–11 compares a certain type of demonic being to locusts.

In Proverbs 30:15–31 Agur (Proverbs 30:1) gives several numerical observations. He lists four things which never lead to satisfaction, only increased desire. Another four ideas are said to be "wonderful," here meant in the sense of being hard to grasp. Next are four examples of the dangers of putting people in sudden positions of power. Then, four seemingly humble animals who achieve great tasks. The last is a series of examples showing the "stately" nature of confidence.

This chapter contains the teachings of Agur, who is only known through this passage. Humility and a sense of one's own limitations are key themes in this section. Agur prays for God's providence and warns about the sins of arrogance, greed, and rebelliousness. He marvels at how the ungodly can sin without care, not realizing their fate. He then notes the way some insignificant animals accomplish great things and comments on the effects of confidence. The chapter ends with a reminder that stirring up anger leads to trouble.

This chapter falls between a collection of Solomon's wise sayings (Proverbs 25—29) and King Lemuel's proverbs (Proverbs 31). Chapter 30 contains the wise sayings of Agur, who is otherwise unknown. He may have been the son of Jakeh. His teachings are called an oracle: a weighty message from God. Humility and warnings about arrogance are recurring themes in this chapter.

Proverbs is best understood in context with the books of Ecclesiastes and Job. In Proverbs, “wisdom” is given in short, simple, general terms. Ecclesiastes represents wisdom based on observation and experience. This often shows how the general principles of the book of Proverbs don’t apply in absolutely every circumstance. Job represents wisdom based on the experience of suffering and injustice. All three come to the conclusion that God does indeed know best, and the most sensible course of action is to follow His will.