Proverbs 30:15–31

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

Three thingsg are never satisfied;

four never say, “Enough!”:

16 Sheol;h a childless womb;i

earth, which is never satisfied with water;

and fire, which never says, “Enough!”

17 As for the eye that ridicules a fatherj

and despises obedience to a mother,

may ravens of the valley pluck it out

and young vultures eat it.k

18 Three things are too wondrous for me;*

four I can’t understand:

19 the 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.

20 This is the way of an adulteress:

she eats and wipes her mouth

and says, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”l

21 The earth trembles under three things;

it cannot bear up under four:

22 a servant when he becomes king,m

a fool when he is stuffed with food,

23 an unloved woman when she marries,n

and a servant girl when she ousts her queen.

24 Four things on earth are small,

yet they are extremely wise:

25 ants are not a strong people,

yet they store up their food in the summer;o

26 hyraxes are not a mighty people,

yet they make their homes in the cliffs;p

27 locusts have no king,

yet all of them march in ranks;q

28 a lizardA can be caught in your hands,

yet it lives in kings’ palaces.

29 Three things are stately in their stride;

four are stately in their walk:

30 a lion, which is mightiest among beasts

and doesn’t retreat before anything;

31 a strutting rooster;B a goat;

and a king at the head of his army.C