Proverbs 30

THE WORDS OF AGUR

30The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The pronouncement.^u

The man’s oration to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:^B

²I am more stupid than any other person,^C

and I lack a human’s ability to understand.^v

³I have not gained wisdom,

and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.^w

⁴Who has gone up to heaven and come down?^x

Who has gathered the wind in his hands?

Who has bound up the waters in a cloak?^y

Who has established all the ends of the earth?^z

What is his name,

and what is the name of his son—

if you know?^aa

⁵Every word of God is pure;^Dab

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.^ac

⁶Don’t add to his words,^ad

or he will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.^ae

⁷Two things I ask of you;

don’t deny them to me before I die:

⁸Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.

Give me neither poverty nor wealth;

feed me with the food I need.^af

⁹Otherwise, I might have too much^ag

and deny you,^ah saying, “Who is the Lord?”^ai

or I might have nothing and steal,^aj

profaning^E the name of my God.^ak

¹⁰Don’t slander a servant to his master

or he will curse you,^a and you will become guilty.

¹¹There is a generation that curses its father

and does not bless its mother.^b

¹²There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,^c

yet is not washed from its filth.

¹³There is a generation—how haughty its eyes

and pretentious its looks.^F

¹⁴There is a generation whose teeth are swords,^d

whose fangs are knives,^e

devouring the oppressed from the land^f

and the needy from among mankind.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters: “Give, Give!”

Three things^g are never satisfied;

four never say, “Enough!”:

¹⁶Sheol;^h a childless womb;ⁱ

earth, which is never satisfied with water;

and fire, which never says, “Enough!”

¹⁷As for the eye that ridicules a father^j

and despises obedience to a mother,

may ravens of the valley pluck it out

and young vultures eat it.^k

¹⁸Three things are too wondrous for me;^*

four I can’t understand:

¹⁹the way of an eagle in the sky,

the way of a snake on a rock,

the way of a ship at sea,

and the way of a man with a young woman.

²⁰This is the way of an adulteress:

she eats and wipes her mouth

and says, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”^l

²¹The earth trembles under three things;

it cannot bear up under four:

²²a servant when he becomes king,^m

a fool when he is stuffed with food,

²³an unloved woman when she marries,ⁿ

and a servant girl when she ousts her queen.

²⁴Four things on earth are small,

yet they are extremely wise:

²⁵ants are not a strong people,

yet they store up their food in the summer;^o

²⁶hyraxes are not a mighty people,

yet they make their homes in the cliffs;^p

²⁷locusts have no king,

yet all of them march in ranks;^q

²⁸a lizard^A can be caught in your hands,

yet it lives in kings’ palaces.

²⁹Three things are stately in their stride;

four are stately in their walk:

³⁰a lion, which is mightiest among beasts

and doesn’t retreat before anything;

³¹a strutting rooster;^B a goat;

and a king at the head of his army.^C

³²If you have been foolish by exalting yourself

or if you’ve been scheming,

put your hand over your mouth.^r

³³For the churning of milk produces butter,

and twisting a nose draws blood,

and stirring up anger produces strife.^s