Proverbs 30

¹The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh; an oracle:This man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ukal:

²Surely I am more brutish than any other human being,and I do not have human understanding;

³I have not learned wisdom,nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴Who 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? – if you know!

⁵Every word of God is purified;he is like a shield for those who take refuge in him.

⁶Do not add to his words,lest he reprove you, and prove you to be a liar.

⁷Two things I ask from you;do not refuse me before I die:

⁸Remove falsehood and lies far from me;do not give me poverty or riches,feed me with my allotted portion of bread,

⁹lest I become satisfied and act deceptivelyand say, “Who is the Lord?”Or lest I become poor and stealand demean the name of my God.

¹⁰Do not slander a servant to his master,lest he curse you, and you are found guilty.

¹¹There is a generation who curse their fathersand do not bless their mothers.

¹²There is a generation who are pure in their own eyesand yet are not washed from their filthiness.

¹³There is a generation whose eyes are so lofty,and whose eyelids are lifted up disdainfully.

¹⁴There is a generation whose teeth are like swordsand whose molars are like knivesto devour the poor from the earthand the needy from among the human race.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters:“Give! Give!”There are three things that are never satisfied,four that never say, “Enough” –

¹⁶the grave, the barren womb,land that is not satisfied with water,and fire that never says, “Enough!”

¹⁷The eye that mocks at a fatherand despises obeying a mother –the ravens of the valley will peck it outand the young vultures will eat it.

¹⁸There are three things that are too wonderful for me,four that I do not understand:

¹⁹the way of an eagle in the sky,the way of a snake on a rock,the way of a ship in the sea,and the way of a man with a woman.

²⁰This is the way of an adulterous woman:she eats and wipes her mouthand says, “I have not done wrong.”

²¹Under three things the earth trembles,and under four things it cannot bear up:

²²under a servant who becomes king,under a fool who is stuffed with food,

²³under an unloved woman who is married,and under a female servant who dispossesses her mistress.

²⁴There are four things on earth that are small,but they are exceedingly wise:

²⁵ants are creatures with little strength,but they prepare their food in the summer;

²⁶rock badgers are creatures with little power,but they make their homes in the crags;

²⁷locusts have no king,but they all go forward by ranks;

²⁸a lizard you can catch with the hand,but it gets into the palaces of the king.

²⁹There are three things that are magnificent in their step,four things that move about magnificently:

³⁰a lion, mightiest of the beasts,who does not retreat from anything;

³¹a strutting rooster, a male goat,and a king with his army around him.

³²If you have done foolishly by exalting yourselfor if you have planned evil,put your hand over your mouth!

³³For as the churning of milk produces butterand as punching the nose produces blood,so stirring up anger produces strife.