Pro 30:2 | NET2full | STEP | Surely I am more brutish than any other human being , and I do not have human understanding;

‏ Proverbs 30:2

2 Surely ^{▼▼tn The particle כִּי (ki) functions in an asseverative sense, “surely; indeed; truly” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §449).} I am more brutish ^{▼▼tn The noun בַּעַר (baʿar) means “brutishness”; here it functions as a predicate adjective. It is followed by מֵאִישׁ (meʾish) expressing comparative degree: “more than a man” or “more than any man,” with “man” used in a generic sense. He is saying that he has fallen beneath the level of mankind. Cf. NRSV “I am too stupid to be human.”} than any other human being, ^{▼▼tn Heb “than man.” The verse is using hyperbole; this individual feels as if he has no intelligence at all, that he is more brutish than any other human. Of course this is not true, or he would not be able to speculate on the God of the universe at all. On the other hand he may simply be employing sarcasm. He says what others think, knowing that it is not true.}
and I do not have human understanding; ^{▼▼tn Heb “the understanding of a man,” with “man” used attributively here.}