Proverbs 30:15–29

Human Bloodsuckers

¹⁵The bloodsucking leech has two daughters—“Give!” and “Give!” 

Four Things That Are Never Satisfied

Three things are never satisfied. 

Four never say, “Enough!”: 

¹⁶the grave, 

a barren womb, 

a land that never gets enough water, 

a fire that does not say, “Enough!” 

Disrespectful Children—Their Punishment

¹⁷The eye that makes fun of a father and hates to obey a mother 

will be plucked out by ravens in the valley and eaten by young vultures. 

Four Things of Intrigue

¹⁸Three things are too amazing to me, 

even four that I cannot understand: 

¹⁹an eagle making its way through the sky, 

a snake making its way over a rock, 

a ship making its way through high seas, 

a man making his way with a virgin. 

About the Woman Who Commits Adultery

²⁰This is the way of a woman who commits adultery: 

She eats, wipes her mouth, 

and says, “I haven’t done anything wrong!” 

Four Things That Are Intolerable

²¹Three things cause the earth to tremble, 

even four it cannot bear up under: 

²²a slave when he becomes king, 

a godless fool when he is filled with food, 

²³a woman who is unloved when she gets married, 

a maid when she replaces her mistress. 

Four Things That Are Small—Yet Smart and Strong

²⁴Four things on earth are small, 

yet they are very wise: 

²⁵Ants are not a strong species, 

yet they store their food in summer. 

²⁶Rock badgers are not a mighty species, 

yet they make their home in the rocks. 

²⁷Locusts have no king, 

yet all of them divide into swarms by instinct. 

²⁸A lizard you can hold in your hands, 

yet it can even be found in royal palaces. 

Four Things That Move with Dignity

²⁹There are three things that walk with dignity, 

even four that march with dignity: