Proverbs 30:4

KJV1611 – Modern English

Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name, if you can tell?

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

מִ֤י עָלָֽה־שָׁמַ֨יִם ׀ וַיֵּרַ֡ד מִ֤י אָֽסַף־ר֨וּחַ ׀ בְּחָפְנָ֡יו מִ֤י צָֽרַר־מַ֨יִם ׀ בַּשִּׂמְלָ֗ה מִ֭י הֵקִ֣ים כָּל־אַפְסֵי־אָ֑רֶץ מַה־שְּׁמ֥וֹ וּמַֽה־שֶּׁם־בְּ֝נ֗וֹ כִּ֣י תֵדָֽע׃

Transliteration

Mî ʿālâ-šāmayim wayyērad mî ʾāsap-rûaḥ beḥopnāyw mî ṣārar-mayim baśśimlâ mî hēqîm kol-ʾapsê-ʾāreṣ mah-šemô ûmah-šem-benô kî tēdāʿ

Grammar Details

• *Mî*: interrogative pronoun - who
• *ʿālâ*: qal perfect, third masculine singular - went up/ascended
• *šāmayim*: masculine plural noun - heavens/sky
• *wayyērad*: waw-consecutive + qal imperfect, third masculine singular - and descended/came down
• *ʾāsap*: qal perfect, third masculine singular - gathered/collected
• *rûaḥ*: feminine singular noun - wind/breath/spirit
• *beḥopnāyw*: preposition + masculine dual noun + third person masculine singular suffix - in his fists/handfuls
• *ṣārar*: qal perfect, third masculine singular - bound/wrapped up
• *mayim*: masculine plural noun - waters
• *baśśimlâ*: preposition + definite article + feminine singular noun - in the garment/cloak
• *hēqîm*: hiphil perfect, third masculine singular - established/set up
• *kol*: construct state - all of
• *ʾapsê*: construct state, masculine plural - ends of
• *ʾāreṣ*: feminine singular noun - earth/land
• *mah*: interrogative pronoun - what
• *šemô*: masculine singular noun + third person masculine singular suffix - his name
• *ûmah*: conjunction + interrogative pronoun - and what
• *šem*: construct state, masculine singular - name of
• *benô*: masculine singular noun + third person masculine singular suffix - his son
• *kî*: conjunction - for/if/that/when/because
• *tēdāʿ*: qal imperfect, second masculine singular - you know/will know

Word Meanings

• *rûaḥ*: wind/breath/spirit
• *ʾapsê*: ends/boundaries/extremities
• *kî*: for/if/that/surely/when

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his hands? Who has wrapped the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son? Surely you know!

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  Who 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?

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in his garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou knowest?

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  Who 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?

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Who hath clymmed vp i to heauen? Who hath come downe from thence? Who hath holden ye wynde fast in his hade? Who hath coprehended ye waters in a garment? Who hath set all the endes of ye worlde? What is his name, or his sonnes name? Canst thou tell?

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Who hath ascended vp to heauen, and descended? Who hath gathered the winde in his fist? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the endes of the world? What is his name, and what is his sonnes name, if thou canst tell?

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  Who hath clymed vp into heauen, and come downe from thence? who hath holden the wynde fast in his hande? who hath gathered together the waters in a garment? who hath established all the endes of the worlde: what is his name, and what is his sonnes name, yf thou canst tell?

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  Who 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?

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  Who has ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name, if you know?

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  Who went up to heaven, and cometh down? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound waters in a garment? Who established all ends of the earth? What `is' His name? and what His son's name? Surely thou knowest!

• American Standard Version (1901)

  Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in his garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou knowest?

• American Standard Version (1901)

  Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in his garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou knowest?

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  Who has gone up to heaven and come down? who has taken the winds in his hands, prisoning the waters in his robe? by whom have all the ends of the earth been fixed? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if you are able to say?

• World English Bible (2000)

  Who has ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name, if you know?

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  Who has ascended into heaven, and then descended? Who has gathered up the winds in his fists? Who has bound up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you can know!

Referenced Verses

• John 3:13 : 13 No man has ascended to heaven but he who came down from heaven, even the Son of Man who is in heaven.
• Rev 19:12 : 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written that no one knew but he himself.
• Exod 34:5-7 : 5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in goodness and truth," 7 "Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and by no means clearing the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."
• Job 38:4-9 : 4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements, if you know? Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 On what are its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 Or who closed up the sea with doors, when it burst forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? 9 When I made the cloud its garment, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, 10 And fixed My limit for it, and set bars and doors, 11 And said, This far you shall come, but no further; and here shall your proud waves be stopped? 12 Have you commanded the morning since your days began; and caused the dawn to know its place, 13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? 14 It is changed like clay under the seal; and they stand out like a garment. 15 And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the upraised arm is broken. 16 Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep? 17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? 18 Have you perceived the breadth of the earth? Declare, if you know it all. 19 Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness, where is its place, 20 That you may take it to its boundary, and that you may discern the paths to its home? 21 Do you know it, because you were born then? Or because the number of your days is great? 22 Have you entered into the storehouses of the snow? Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, 23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war? 24 By what way is the light distributed, which scatters the east wind upon the earth? 25 Who has divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder, 26 To cause it to rain on the earth where no one is, on the wilderness, where there is no man; 27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the sprout of tender grass to spring forth? 28 Does the rain have a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? 29 From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth? 30 The waters are hidden like stone, and the surface of the deep is frozen. 31 Can you bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion? 32 Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs? 33 Do you know the statutes of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth? 34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that an abundance of water may cover you? 35 Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, and say to you, Here we are? 36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the heart? 37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven, 38 When the dust hardens into clumps, and the clods cling together? 39 Will you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, 40 When they crouch in their dens, and lie in wait in the thickets? 41 Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?
• Deut 30:12 : 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
• Isa 7:14 : 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
• Isa 9:6 : 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
• Isa 53:8 : 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living: for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
• Jer 23:6 : 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is his name by which he shall be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
• Matt 1:21-23 : 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
• Matt 11:27 : 27 All things have been delivered to me by my Father: and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son will reveal him.
• Luke 10:22 : 22 All things have been delivered to me by my Father: and no one knows who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
• Isa 40:12-31 : 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and measured the heavens with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? 13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as his counselor has taught him? 14 With whom did he take counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the islands as a very little thing. 16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. 17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted by him as less than nothing, and vanity. 18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him? 19 The workman molds a graven image, the goldsmith covers it with gold and casts silver chains. 20 He who is so impoverished that he has no offering chooses a tree that will not rot; he seeks for himself a skillful workman to prepare a graven image that will not be moved. 21 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he who sits upon the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in; 23 Who brings the princes to nothing; he makes the judges of the earth as vanity. 24 Indeed, they shall not be planted; indeed, they shall not be sown; indeed, their stock shall not take root in the earth; and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. 25 To whom then will you liken me, or to whom shall I be equal? says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; he calls them all by name, by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power; not one is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hidden from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint nor is weary? His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to those who have no might he increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
• Judg 13:18 : 18 And the angel of the LORD said to him, Why do you ask my name, seeing it is secret?
• Job 26:8 : 8 He binds up the waters in His thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.
• Ps 2:7 : 7 I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to me, 'You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.'
• Ps 22:27 : 27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You.
• Ps 24:2 : 2 For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters.
• Ps 68:18 : 18 You have ascended on high, you have led captivity captive: you have received gifts for men; yes, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.
• Ps 104:2-9 : 2 Who covers Yourself with light as with a garment: who stretches out the heavens like a curtain: 3 Who lays the beams of His chambers in the waters: who makes the clouds His chariot: who walks upon the wings of the wind: 4 Who makes His angels spirits; His ministers a flaming fire: 5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever. 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. 7 At Your rebuke they fled; at the voice of Your thunder they hurried away. 8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys to the place which You have founded for them. 9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over; that they may not return to cover the earth. 10 He sends the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. 11 They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 By them the birds of the heavens have their habitation, which sing among the branches. 13 He waters the hills from His chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works. 14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; 15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face shine, and bread which strengthens man's heart. 16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which He has planted; 17 Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house. 18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies. 19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knows its setting. 20 You make darkness, and it is night: in which all the beasts of the forest creep forth. 21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God. 22 The sun rises, they gather themselves together, and lie down in their dens. 23 Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening. 24 O LORD, how manifold are Your works! in wisdom You have made them all: the earth is full of Your riches. 25 This great and wide sea, in which are creeping things innumerable, both small and great beasts. 26 There go the ships: there is Leviathan, which You have made to play there. 27 These all wait for You, that You may give them their food in due season. 28 What You give them they gather: You open Your hand, they are filled with good. 29 You hide Your face, they are troubled: You take away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. 30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created: and You renew the face of the earth. 31 The glory of the LORD shall endure forever: the LORD shall rejoice in His works. 32 He looks on the earth, and it trembles: He touches the hills, and they smoke. 33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 34 My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD. 35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD.
• Deut 28:58 : 58 If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD YOUR GOD;
• Gen 32:29 : 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray, your name. And he said, Why is it that you ask about my name? And he blessed him there.
• Exod 3:13-15 : 13 And Moses said to God, Behold, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you; and they say to me, What is his name? what shall I say to them? 14 And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And he said, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. 15 And God said moreover to Moses, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.
• Exod 6:3 : 3 And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH I was not known to them.
• Rom 10:6 : 6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down from above)"
• Eph 4:8-9 : 8 Therefore he says, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9 (Now that he ascended, what does it mean but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is the same also who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)