“The eye that mocks a father, that scorns obedience to a mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures.”
As with verse 10, this verse appears to be a stand-alone proverb among the other sections of Proverbs 30. But its subject matter and its verbal connections with some of the tetrads demonstrate that it is an integral part of the proverbs of Agur.
Severe punishment awaits those who show disrespect for their parents (see references, v 11). The sentence focuses on the “eye” that shows mocking (“la’ag”) and scorn or disdain (“buwz”) against parents. The eye, that is, the look or facial expression, manifests the inner attitude of the heart. Here is literally the judgment of “an eye for an eye” (Matt 5:38; Exod 21:23-25; Lev 24:19,20; Deut 19:19): the eye that despises or shows contempt for parents will be pecked out by the birds.
The eye that mocks a father, that scorns obedience to a mother: This phrase is an echo of verse 11: those who curse their parents are one of the classes of people whom the LORD will surely judge, and now what follows in verse 17 is a graphic illustration of such judgment.
The concentration on the “eye” has another verbal link, this time with verse 13, which describes the haughty and disdainful eyes or glances of another class of arrogant people.
Under the Law, those who abused their parents were put to death (Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9; Matt 15:4; cf Prov 13:9; 20:20; Job 18:6). Since vultures normally devour the dead (2Sam 21:10; 1Kgs 14:11; 21:24; Psa 79:2; Jer 7:33; 16:4; Matt 24:28; Luke 17:37), the meaning may be that the body of a disgraceful son would lie unburied and exposed (2Kgs 9:10, 37; Psa 83:10; Isa 5:25; Jer 8:1-3; 9:22; 14:16; 25:33; 36:30).
Leaving a corpse exposed to the elements and wild beasts was then (and always has been) the height of indignity, and a terribly gruesome final judgment. The imagery here is as ugly and disconcerting as that of the grotesque, greedy leech in verse 15. Agur plainly intended that his listeners or readers would be revolted by such mental pictures, and would transfer that revulsion from the punishment itself to the sins that brought about such a punishment.
We can see several plain connections between this verse and earlier verses in Proverbs 30. It is interesting that the connections can be drawn to different tetrads:
- The sin to be judged links verse 17 with at least two of the four facets of arrogance in Tetrad One (vv 11-14) — the “parents” in verse 11 and the “eyes” in verse 13.
- The revolting image of vultures pecking out the eyes of a lifeless body points back to the equally revolting leech that introduced Tetrad Two (vv 15,16).
This last observation suggests that verse 17 is meant to be a kind of conclusion to both previous tetrads:
- It provides a judgment implied but not explicitly stated for the classes of people enumerated in Tetrad One, and
- it shows a punishment disgusting enough to fit the equally disgusting sins — greed, lust and selfishness — listed in Tetrad Two.
The verse refers to “the ravens of the valley”. Does “the valley” refer to the Valley of Hinnom, or Gehenna, the scene of judgment (Jer 31:40)? See the notes and references above, on verse 16, and the relationship between “Sheol” and “Gehenna”.
Or does it refer to “the valley of the shadow of death” (Psa 23:4), the valley where Elijah had the prophets of Baal slaughtered (1Kgs 18:40), or some other valley?
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One