Paragraph 30:29–31 Four things that walk like leaders

This is a numerical proverb that has the same form as 30:18–19. The author lists three animals and a person that walk in a way that shows their pride and status as leaders.

30:29

The parallel structure here is similar to 30:18–19, including the ellipsis.

29a “There are three things that are stately in their stride,

29b and four that are impressive in their walk :

30:29a–b

stately in their stride…impressive in their walk: In Hebrew, these phrases are more literally “stride/step well…walk/move well.” In this context, they describe the confident and dignified way that the four things stride along as they move from place to place. Some other ways to translate these phrases are:

walk with stately stride…strut about (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
walk with dignity…march with dignity (God’s Word)
-or-
strut proudly…walk as if they were important (New Century Version)

General Comment on 30:29a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder these parallel lines. For example:

There are four things that are impressive to watch as they walk: (Good News Translation)

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