Proverbs 30–31

The Words of Agur

30The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.¹

The man declares, I am weary, O God;

I am weary, O God, and worn out.²

²Surely I am too ^mstupid to be a man.

I have not the understanding of a man.

³I have not learned wisdom,

nor have I knowledge of ⁿthe Holy One.

⁴Who has ^oascended to heaven and come down?

Who has ^pgathered the wind in his fists?

Who has ^qwrapped up the waters in a garment?

Who has established all ^rthe ends of the earth?

^sWhat is his name, and what is his son’s name?

Surely you know!

^5tEvery word of God proves true;

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

^6vDo not add to his words,

lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

⁷Two things I ask of you;

deny them not to me ^wbefore I die:

⁸Remove far from me falsehood and lying;

give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with the food that is ^xneedful for me,

⁹lest I be ^yfull and ^zdeny you

and say, ^a“Who is the Lord?”

or lest I be poor and steal

^band profane the name of my God.

^10cDo not slander a servant to his master,

^dlest he curse you, and you be held guilty.

¹¹There are those³ who ^ecurse their fathers

and do not bless their mothers.

¹²There are those who are ^fclean in their own eyes

but are not washed of their filth.

¹³There are those—how ^glofty are their eyes,

how high their eyelids lift!

¹⁴There are those whose teeth are ^hswords,

whose ⁱfangs are knives,

to ^jdevour the poor from off the earth,

the needy from among mankind.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters:

Give and Give.⁴

^kThree things are never satisfied;

^kfour never say, “Enough”:

^16lSheol, ^mthe barren womb,

the land never satisfied with water,

and the fire that never says, “Enough.”

¹⁷The eye that ⁿmocks a father

and ^oscorns to obey a mother

will ^pbe picked out by ^qthe ravens of the valley

and eaten by the vultures.

^18kThree things are ^rtoo wonderful for me;

^kfour I do not understand:

¹⁹the way of an eagle in the sky,

the way of a serpent on a rock,

the way of a ship on the high seas,

and the way of a man with a virgin.

²⁰This is the way of an adulteress:

she eats and wipes her mouth

and says, “I have done no wrong.”

²¹Under ^kthree things ^sthe earth trembles;

under ^kfour it cannot bear up:

^22ta slave when he becomes king,

and a fool when he is ^ufilled with food;

^23van unloved woman when she ^wgets a husband,

and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.

^24kFour things on earth are small,

but they are exceedingly wise:

^25xthe ants are a people not strong,

yet they provide their food in the summer;

^26ythe rock badgers are a people not mighty,

yet they make their homes in the cliffs;

²⁷the locusts have no ^zking,

yet all of them march in ^arank;

²⁸the lizard you can take in your hands,

yet it is in kings’ palaces.

^29bThree things are stately in their tread;

^bfour are stately in their stride:

³⁰the lion, which is mightiest among beasts

and ^cdoes not turn back before any;

³¹the ^dstrutting rooster,⁵ the he-goat,

and a king whose army is with him.⁶

³²If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,

or if you have been devising evil,

^eput your hand on your mouth.

³³For pressing milk produces curds,

pressing the nose produces blood,

and pressing anger produces strife.

The Words of King Lemuel

31The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:

²What are you doing, my son?¹ What are you doing, ^fson of my womb?

What are you doing, ^gson of my vows?

³Do ^hnot give your strength to women,

your ways to those ⁱwho destroy kings.

^4jIt is not for kings, O Lemuel,

it is not for kings ^kto drink wine,

or for rulers to take ^lstrong drink,

⁵lest they drink and forget what has been decreed

and ^mpervert the rights of all the afflicted.

⁶Give strong drink to the one who ⁿis perishing,

and wine to ^othose in bitter distress;²

^7plet them drink and forget their poverty

and remember their misery no more.

^8qOpen your mouth for the mute,

for the rights of all who are destitute.³

⁹Open your mouth, ^rjudge righteously,

^sdefend the rights of ^tthe poor and needy.

The Woman Who Fears the Lord

^{104 u}An excellent wife who can find?

She is far more precious than ^vjewels.

¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her,

and he will have no lack of gain.

¹²She does him good, and not harm,

all the days of her life.

¹³She ^wseeks wool and flax,

and works with willing hands.

¹⁴She is like the ships of the merchant;

she brings her food from afar.

¹⁵She ^xrises while it is yet night

and ^yprovides food for her household

and portions for her maidens.

¹⁶She considers a field and buys it;

with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷She ^zdresses herself⁵ with strength

and makes her arms strong.

¹⁸She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.

Her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹She puts her hands to the distaff,

and her hands hold the spindle.

²⁰She ^aopens her hand to ^bthe poor

and reaches out her hands to ^bthe needy.

²¹She is not afraid of snow for her household,

for all her household are clothed in ^cscarlet.⁶

²²She makes ^dbed coverings for herself;

her clothing is ^efine linen and ^fpurple.

²³Her husband is known in ^gthe gates

when he sits among the elders of the land.

²⁴She makes ^hlinen garments and sells them;

she delivers sashes to the merchant.

²⁵ⁱStrength and dignity are her clothing,

and she laughs at the time to come.

²⁶She opens her mouth with wisdom,

and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

²⁷She looks well to the ways of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸Her children rise up and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

²⁹“Many ^jwomen have done ^kexcellently,

but you surpass them all.”

^30lCharm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

³¹Give her of the fruit of her hands,

and let her works praise her in the gates.