Proverbs 30:10–33

¹⁰Never criticize servants to their master. You will be cursed and suffer for it.

¹¹There are people who curse their fathers and do not show their appreciation for their mothers.

¹²There are people who think they are pure when they are as filthy as they can be.

¹³There are people who think they are so good—oh, how good they think they are!

¹⁴There are people who take cruel advantage of the poor and needy; that is the way they make their living.

¹⁵A leech has two daughters, and both are named “Give me!”

There are four things that are never satisfied:

¹⁶the world of the dead,

a woman without children,

dry ground that needs rain,

and a fire burning out of control.

¹⁷Those who make fun of their father or despise their mother in her old age^y ought to be eaten by vultures or have their eyes picked out by wild ravens.

¹⁸There are four things that are too mysterious for me to understand:

¹⁹an eagle flying in the sky,

a snake moving on a rock,

a ship finding its way over the sea,

and a man and a woman falling in love.

²⁰This is how an unfaithful wife acts: she commits adultery, has a bath, and says, “But I haven’t done anything wrong!”

²¹There are four things that the earth itself cannot tolerate:

²²a slave who becomes a king,

a fool who has all he wants to eat,

²³a hateful woman who gets married,

and a servant woman who takes the place of her mistress.

²⁴There are four animals in the world that are small, but very, very clever:

²⁵Ants: they are weak, but they store up their food in the summer.

²⁶Rock-badgers: they are not strong either, but they make their homes among the rocks.

²⁷Locusts: they have no king, but they move in formation. ²⁸Lizards: you can hold one in your hand, but you can find them in palaces.

²⁹There are four things that are impressive to watch as they walk:

³⁰lions, strongest of all animals and afraid of none;

³¹goats,

strutting cocks,

and kings in front of their people.^{z 32}If you have been foolish enough to be arrogant and plan evil, stop and think! ³³If you churn milk, you get butter. If you hit someone’s nose, it bleeds. If you stir up anger, you get into trouble.