Bird's-eye view
In this memorable section of Agur's oracle, we are presented with a vivid picture of insatiable, grasping desire. The passage uses a common Hebrew poetic device, the numerical saying ("three things... four"), to build a memorable list of things that are never satisfied. The central image is that of a leech, a bloodsucking parasite, personified as having two daughters whose only cry is "Give, Give." This raw, demanding nature is then illustrated with four potent examples from the created order: the grave, a barren womb, parched land, and a consuming fire. The point is not simply to offer a lesson in natural history, but to hold up a mirror to the fallen human heart. This is what sin does to us; it turns us into creatures of perpetual, unfulfillable craving. The proverb serves as a stark warning against the spirit of this age, which is a spirit of entitlement and endless demand, and it implicitly points us to the only one who can truly satisfy the human soul.
This is a wisdom text that diagnoses the fundamental problem of man outside of Christ. Our desires, which were created to find their fulfillment in God, have become detached from their proper object. Like a fire that has run out of fuel, a womb that has given up hope, or a grave that is never full, the sinful heart can never say, "Enough." It is a picture of damnation in miniature. The only answer to this endless cry of "Give, Give" is the gospel cry of "It is finished."
Outline
- 1. The Insatiable Nature of Sin (Prov 30:15-16)
- a. The Parable of the Leech (Prov 30:15a)
- b. The Cry of the Two Daughters: "Give, Give" (Prov 30:15b)
- c. The Numerical Riddle: Three, Yea Four (Prov 30:15c)
- d. The Four Illustrations of "Never Enough" (Prov 30:16)
- i. Sheol: The Grave
- ii. The Barren Womb
- iii. The Parched Earth
- iv. The Consuming Fire
Context In Proverbs
Proverbs 30 is attributed to a man named Agur, son of Jakeh. We know little about him, but his contribution to the book of Proverbs is distinct. His style is marked by humility (Prov 30:2-3) and a heavy use of numerical proverbs, which list a certain number of things and then add one more for emphasis. This "X, X+1" pattern is a classic feature of Hebrew wisdom literature, designed to make the teaching memorable and to indicate that the list is representative, not exhaustive. This particular proverb about insatiable things fits within a chapter that observes the wonders and follies of the created order to draw moral and spiritual lessons. It follows a section describing a generation that is proud and cruel (Prov 30:11-14) and precedes a section on things that are wonderful and mysterious (Prov 30:18-19). The placement is significant; the grasping, leech-like nature described here is characteristic of the wicked generation just condemned.
Key Issues
- The Nature of Fallen Human Desire
- The Use of Numerical Sayings in Wisdom Literature
- Personification as a Teaching Tool
- The Connection Between Sin and Dissatisfaction
- The Gospel as the Only True Satisfaction
The Gimme Gimme Twins
The central image here is a powerful one. A leech is a parasitic worm, known for its bloodsucking. It attaches itself to a host and does not let go until it is engorged. It only takes; it never gives. Agur tells us this leech has two daughters, and their names are "Give" and "Give." In our modern vernacular, we might call them the "Gimme Gimme" twins. Their nature is defined by a single, incessant demand. They do not ask politely. They do not offer anything in return. They simply cry out for more.
This is a profound illustration of the nature of sin. Sin is inherently parasitic. It attaches itself to the good gifts of God's creation and sucks the life out of them. It is never content. The man driven by lust is never satisfied with the last conquest; he must have another. The man driven by greed is never satisfied with his current wealth; he must have more. The man driven by envy is never satisfied with his own blessings because he is consumed by the blessings of others. Sin is a spiritual leech with two daughters, and they are always crying, "Give, Give." This proverb forces us to ask ourselves if we can hear that cry coming from our own hearts.
Verse by Verse Commentary
15a The leech has two daughters, “Give,” “Give.”
The opening statement sets the stage with this grotesque but effective imagery. The leech, or alukah in Hebrew, is a picture of relentless extraction. It is pure appetite. By giving it two daughters, Agur doubles down on the image. This is not just a singular craving, but a breeding, multiplying demand. And their names define their essence. They don't have a complex identity; they are simply the personification of the demand for more. This is what the world looks like to the covetous man, to the lustful man, to the envious man. Everything is something to be consumed, to be taken. It is the opposite of the Christian ethic, which is defined by the name of God Himself, who so loved the world that He gave His only Son.
15b There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, “Enough”:
Here Agur employs the well-known rhetorical device of a graded numerical saying. He starts by saying there are three things, which gets the listener's attention, and then he ups the ante to four. This signals that the list is complete for his purposes and adds a sense of weight to the final item. The phrase "will not say, 'Enough'" is key. It's not that these things are sometimes hungry; it's that their very nature is to be insatiable. Satisfaction is a category that does not apply to them. This is a description of a state of being, a perpetual motion of want. This is the engine of hell, a constant, unfulfilled burning.
16 Sheol, and the barren womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, “Enough.”
Now we get the four examples that illustrate the cry of "Give, Give." First is Sheol, the grave, the realm of the dead. From the beginning of time, the grave has been receiving the dead, and it is not yet full. It does not matter how many die, Sheol always has room for one more. It is the ultimate consumer. It is a powerful metaphor for a life given over to sin, which is a kind of living death, always consuming but never producing life.
Second is the barren womb. In the ancient world, childlessness was a source of great sorrow and longing. The desire for a child, for fruitfulness, is a deep and powerful God-given desire. When unfulfilled, it can become an all-consuming ache. Think of Rachel crying out to Jacob, "Give me children, or I shall die!" (Gen 30:1). This is not a sinful desire in itself, but Agur uses its intensity to illustrate the nature of insatiability. The longing is profound and does not simply go away with time.
Third is the earth that is never satisfied with water. This is a picture of a parched desert land. You can pour a bucket of water on the sand, and in a moment, it is gone, as though you had done nothing. The ground remains thirsty, ready to swallow more. This represents a soul that has no capacity to retain grace or blessing. Any good thing poured into it is immediately lost, and the soul remains as dry and barren as before.
Fourth and finally, there is fire that never says, “Enough.” Fire is never satisfied. It does not burn out because it gets tired of burning. It goes out only when it runs out of fuel. As long as there is something to consume, the fire will consume it and rage on for more. This is perhaps the most terrifying of the four images, as fire is so often associated with judgment and with hell itself. It is a picture of destructive, all-consuming desire that, left unchecked, will burn down a man's life, his family, and his soul.
Application
This proverb is a diagnostic tool. We are to read this list of four insatiable things and recognize in them the patterns of our own sinful hearts. Where in our lives do we hear the cry of the leech's daughters? Is it in our finances, where we can never have enough? Is it in our sexual appetites, always demanding new and forbidden fuel for the fire? Is it in our thirst for approval, a parched ground that no amount of affirmation can satisfy? Is it in our bitterness, a grave that swallows every good memory and leaves only death?
The world we live in is a monument to the leech. Our entire economy is built on stimulating and then attempting to satisfy an endless stream of manufactured desires. We are told that we will be happy if we just "Give" ourselves one more thing. But this proverb tells us that this path never leads to the land of "Enough." It leads to the grave, to barrenness, to the desert, to the inferno.
The only escape from this logic is the gospel. The human heart is a vacuum that was created for God, and until it is filled with Him, it will remain insatiable. Augustine was right: "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." Jesus Christ is the living water that truly quenches our thirst. He is the bread of life that truly satisfies our hunger. He is the one who comes to the barren and makes them fruitful. He is the one who conquered the grave, robbing Sheol of its victory. The cry of the leech is "Give, Give," but the heart that has been captured by Christ learns to say, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." The leech takes, but the Christian, filled with the Spirit of Christ, gives. That is the great reversal of the gospel, and it is the only true path to the land of "Enough."