7 Two things I request of You

(Deprive me not before I die):

8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me;

Give me neither poverty nor riches—

hFeed me with the food allotted to me;

9 iLest I be full and deny You,

And say, “Who is the Lord?”

Or lest I be poor and steal,

And profane the name of my God.

10 Do not malign a servant to his master,

Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.

11 There is a generation that curses its jfather,

And does not bless its mother.

12 There is a generation kthat is pure in its own eyes,

Yet is not washed from its filthiness.

13 There is a generation—oh, how llofty are their eyes!

And their eyelids are 2lifted up.

14 mThere is a generation whose teeth are like swords,

And whose fangs are like knives,

nTo devour the poor from off the earth,

And the needy from among men.

15 The leech has two daughters—

Give and Give!

There are three things that are never satisfied,

Four never say, “Enough!”:

16 oThe 3grave,

The barren womb,

The earth that is not satisfied with water—

And the fire never says, “Enough!”

17 pThe eye that mocks his father,

And scorns obedience to his mother,

The ravens of the valley will pick it out,

And the young eagles will eat it.

18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me,

Yes, four which I do not understand:

19 The way of an eagle in the air,

The way of a serpent on a rock,

The way of a ship in the 4midst of the sea,

And the way of a man with a virgin.