Bible Strands
Proverbs 30:17
As for the eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, may the ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures devour it.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Agur speaks in Proverbs 30 as part of a structured collection of sayings, positioning this warning between a catalog of insatiable forces (v. 16) and a declaration of divine mysteries (v. 18). The address targets the reader directly, framing parental contempt as a serious moral breach.
The words — עַיִן ('A.yin) = an eye, and תִּלְעַג (til.'Ag) = mocks. The phrase identifies the physical instrument of scorn that initiates the curse.
The thread — The text connects parental contempt to broader biblical treatment of rebellion, appearing in Deuteronomy 21:18 regarding a stubborn son, Proverbs 23:22 commanding honor for aging parents, and Proverbs 30:11 describing a generation that curses fathers and scorns mothers.
Why it lands — The verse demands concrete respect for parental authority by stating that mockery of that duty invites severe judgment. It leaves the reader with a clear boundary: obedience to parents is non-negotiable, and contempt of that order carries unflinching consequences.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 21:18 If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and does not listen to them when disciplined,
- Proverbs 23:22 Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
- Proverbs 30:11 There is a generation of those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
- Leviticus 20:9 If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him.
- 2 Samuel 18:14 But Joab declared, “I am not going to wait like this with you!” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak tree.
- Genesis 9:21 But when he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent.
- Proverbs 20:20 Whoever curses his father or mother, his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.
- Deuteronomy 28:26 Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the air and beasts of the earth, with no one to scare them away.
- 1 Samuel 17:44 “Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
- 2 Samuel 21:10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest until the rain from heaven poured down on the bodies, she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.