Proverbs 30–31

CHAPTER 30

Every Word of God Is Tested

¹The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the ¹oracle.

The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:

²Surely I am more ^asenseless than any man,

And I do not have the understanding of mankind.

³Neither have I learned wisdom,

Nor do I know the ^aknowledge of the Holy One.

⁴Who has ^aascended into heaven and descended?

Who has gathered the ^bwind in His fists?

Who has ^cwrapped the waters in ¹His garment?

Who has ^2destablished all the ends of the earth?

What is His ^ename? And what is His ^fSon’s name?

Surely you know!

⁵Every ^aword of God is ¹tested;

He is a ^bshield to those who take refuge in Him.

^6aDo not add to His words

Lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar.

⁷Two things I asked of You,

Do not withhold from me before I die:

⁸Keep worthlessness and every false word far from me,

Give me neither poverty nor riches;

Feed me with the ^afood that is my portion,

⁹Lest I be ^afull and deny ^bYou and say, “Who is Yahweh?”

Or lest I be ^cimpoverished and steal,

And ^1dprofane the name of my God.

¹⁰Do not slander a slave to his master,

Lest he ^acurse you and you be found guilty.

¹¹There is a generation that ^acurses its father

And does not bless its mother.

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

Yet is not washed from its filthiness.

¹³There is a generation—oh how ^ahaughty are its eyes!

And its eyelids are lifted up.

¹⁴There is a generation whose ^ateeth are like swords

And its ^bfangs like knives,

To ^cdevour the afflicted from the earth

And the needy from among men.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters,

“Give,” “Give.”

There are three things that will not be satisfied,

Four that will not say, “Enough”:

^16aSheol, and the ^bbarren womb,

Earth that is never satisfied with water,

And fire that never says, “Enough.”

¹⁷The eye that ^amocks a father

And ^bdespises obedience to a mother,

The ^cravens of the valley will pick it out,

And the young ^deagles will eat it.

¹⁸There are three things which are too wonderful for me,

Four which I do not understand:

¹⁹The way of an ^aeagle in the sky,

The way of a serpent on a rock,

The way of a ship in the heart of the sea,

And the way of a man with a virgin.

²⁰This is the way of an ^aadulterous woman:

She eats and wipes her mouth,

And says, “I have done no wrong.”

²¹Under three things the earth quakes,

And under four, it cannot bear up:

²²Under a ^aslave when he becomes king,

And a wicked fool when he is satisfied with food,

²³Under ¹an unloved woman when she gets a husband,

And a servant-girl when she supplants her mistress.

²⁴Four things are small on the earth,

But they are exceedingly wise:

²⁵The ^aants are not a strong people,

But they prepare their food in the summer;

²⁶The ^1ashephanim are not a mighty people,

Yet they make their houses in the cliff;

²⁷The locusts have no king,

Yet all of them go out in ^arank;

²⁸The lizard you may grasp with the hands,

Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

²⁹There are three things which are stately in their march,

Even four which are stately when they walk:

³⁰The lion which is ^amighty among the animals

And does not ^bturn back before any,

³¹The ¹strutting rooster, the male goat also,

And a king when his army is with him.

³²If you have been wickedly foolish in lifting yourself up,

Or if you have schemed evil, ^aput your hand on your mouth.

³³For pressing milk brings forth butter,

And pressing the nose brings forth blood;

And pressing ^aanger brings forth strife.

CHAPTER 31

A Mother’s Oracle

¹The words of King Lemuel, the ¹oracle unto which his mother disciplined him:

²What, O my son?

And what, O ^ason of my womb?

And what, O son of my ^bvows?

^3aDo not give your excellence to women,

Or your ways to that which ^bblots out kings.

⁴It is not for ^akings, O Lemuel,

It is not for kings to ^bdrink wine,

Or for rulers to desire strong drink,

⁵Lest he drink and forget what is decreed,

And ^apervert the justice of all the ¹afflicted.

⁶Give strong drink to him who is ^aperishing,

And wine to those ^bwhose soul is bitter.

⁷Let him drink and forget his poverty

And he will not remember his trouble any longer.

^8aOpen your mouth for the mute,

For the justice of all those ¹passing away.

⁹Open your mouth, ^ajudge righteously,

And render ^bjustice to the afflicted and needy.

A Woman Who Fears Yahweh

Aleph

¹⁰¹An ^aexcellent wife, who can find?

For her worth is far ^babove pearls.

Beth

¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her,

And he will have no lack of gain.

Gimel

¹²She deals bountifully with him for good and not evil

All the days of her life.

Daleth

¹³She searches for wool and flax

And works with her ¹hands ²in delight.

He

¹⁴She is like ^amerchant ships;

She brings her food from afar.

Vav

¹⁵And she ^arises while it is still night,

And ^bgives ¹food to her household

And a ²portion to her young women.

Zayin

¹⁶She makes plans for a field and buys it;

From the fruit of her ¹hands she plants a vineyard.

Heth

¹⁷She ^agirds ¹herself with strength

And makes her arms strong.

Teth

¹⁸She senses that her gain is good;

Her lamp does not go out at night.

Yodh

¹⁹She stretches out her hands to the distaff,

And her ¹hands hold fast the spindle.

Kaph

²⁰She ^1aextends her hand to the poor,

And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

Lamedh

²¹She is not afraid of the snow for her household,

For all her household are ^aclothed with scarlet.

Mem

²²She makes ^acoverings for herself;

Her clothing is ^bfine linen and ^cpurple.

Nun

²³Her husband is known ^ain the gates,

When he sits with the elders of the land.

Samekh

²⁴She makes ^alinen garments and sells them,

And gives belts to the ¹tradesmen.

Ayin

²⁵Strength and ^amajesty are her clothing,

And she smiles at the ¹future.

Pe

²⁶She ^aopens her mouth in wisdom,

And the ¹instruction of lovingkindness is on her tongue.

Tsadhe

²⁷She watches over the ways of her household,

And does not eat the ^abread of ¹idleness.

Qoph

²⁸Her children rise up and bless her;

As for her husband, he also praises her, saying:

Resh

²⁹“Many daughters have done excellently,

But you have gone above them all.”

Shin

³⁰¹Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,

But a woman who ^2afears Yahweh, she shall be praised.

Tav

³¹Give to her from the fruit of her hands,

And let her works praise her in the gates.