Proverbs 30–31

30The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; the oracle.

The man saith unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:

²Surely I am more brutish than any man,

And have not the understanding of a man;

³And I have not learned wisdom,

Neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended?

Who hath gathered the wind in his fists?

Who hath bound the waters in his garment?

Who hath established all the ends of the earth?

What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou knowest?

⁵Every word of God is tried:

He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him.

⁶Add thou not unto his words,

Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

⁷Two things have I asked of thee;

Deny me them not before I die:

⁸Remove far from me falsehood and lies;

Give me neither poverty nor riches;

Feed me with the food that is needful for me:

⁹Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is Jehovah?

Or lest I be poor, and steal,

And use profanely the name of my God.

¹⁰Slander not a servant unto his master,

Lest he curse thee, and thou be held guilty.

¹¹There is a generation that curse their father,

And bless not their mother.

¹²There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes,

And yet are not washed from their filthiness.

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

And their eyelids are lifted up.

¹⁴There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives,

To devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

¹⁵The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give.

There are three things that are never satisfied,

Yea, four that say not, Enough:

¹⁶Sheol; and the barren womb;

The earth that is not satisfied with water;

And the fire that saith not, Enough.

¹⁷The eye that mocketh at his father,

And despiseth to obey his mother,

The ravens of the valley shall pick it out,

And the young eagles shall eat it.

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

Yea, four which I know not:

¹⁹The way of an eagle in the air;

The way of a serpent upon a rock;

The way of a ship in the midst of the sea;

And the way of a man with a maiden.

²⁰So is the way of an adulterous woman;

She eateth, and wipeth her mouth,

And saith, I have done no wickedness.

²¹For three things the earth doth tremble,

And for four, which it cannot bear:

²²For a servant when he is king;

And a fool when he is filled with food;

²³For an odious woman when she is married;

And a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

²⁴There are four things which are little upon the earth,

But they are exceeding wise:

²⁵The ants are a people not strong,

Yet they provide their food in the summer;

²⁶The conies are but a feeble folk,

Yet make they their houses in the rocks;

²⁷The locusts have no king,

Yet go they forth all of them by bands;

²⁸The lizard taketh hold with her hands,

Yet is she in kings’ palaces.

²⁹There are three things which are stately in their march,

Yea, four which are stately in going:

³⁰The lion, which is mightiest among beasts,

And turneth not away for any;

³¹The greyhound; the he-goat also;

And the king against whom there is no rising up.

³²If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself,

Or if thou hast thought evil,

Lay thy hand upon thy mouth.

³³For the churning of milk bringeth forth butter,

And the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood;

So the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

31The words of king Lemuel; the oracle which his mother taught him.

²What, my son? and what, O son of my womb?

And what, O son of my vows?

³Give not thy strength unto women,

Nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

⁴It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine;

Nor for princes to say, Where is strong drink?

⁵Lest they drink, and forget the law,

And pervert the justice due to any that is afflicted.

⁶Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish,

And wine unto the bitter in soul:

⁷Let him drink, and forget his poverty,

And remember his misery no more.

⁸Open thy mouth for the dumb,

In the cause of all such as are left desolate.

⁹Open thy mouth, judge righteously,

And minister justice to the poor and needy.

¹⁰A worthy woman who can find?

For her price is far above rubies.

¹¹The heart of her husband trusteth in her,

And he shall have no lack of gain.

¹²She doeth him good and not evil

All the days of her life.

¹³She seeketh wool and flax,

And worketh willingly with her hands.

¹⁴She is like the merchant-ships;

She bringeth her bread from afar.

¹⁵She riseth also while it is yet night,

And giveth food to her household,

And their task to her maidens.

¹⁶She considereth a field, and buyeth it;

With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

¹⁷She girdeth her loins with strength,

And maketh strong her arms.

¹⁸She perceiveth that her merchandise is profitable;

Her lamp goeth not out by night.

¹⁹She layeth her hands to the distaff,

And her hands hold the spindle.

²⁰She stretcheth out her hand to the poor;

Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

²¹She is not afraid of the snow for her household;

For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

²²She maketh for herself carpets of tapestry;

Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

²³Her husband is known in the gates,

When he sitteth among the elders of the land.

²⁴She maketh linen garments and selleth them,

And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

²⁵Strength and dignity are her clothing;

And she laugheth at the time to come.

²⁶She openeth her mouth with wisdom;

And the law of kindness is on her tongue.

²⁷She looketh well to the ways of her household,

And eateth not the bread of idleness.

²⁸Her children rise up, and call her blessed;

Her husband also, and he praiseth her, saying:

²⁹Many daughters have done worthily,

But thou excellest them all.

³⁰Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain;

But a woman that feareth Jehovah, she shall be praised.

³¹Give her of the fruit of her hands;

And let her works praise her in the gates.