Proverbs 30:1–33

The Wisdom of Agur

30The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:

^2aSurely I am more stupid than any man,

And do not have the understanding of a man.

³I neither learned wisdom

Nor have ^bknowledge of the Holy One.

^4cWho has ascended into heaven, or descended?

^dWho has gathered the wind in His fists?

Who has bound the waters in a garment?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is His name, and what is His Son’s name,

If you know?

^5eEvery word of God is ¹pure;

^fHe is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

^6gDo not add to His words,

Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

⁷Two things I request of You

(Deprive me not before I die):

⁸Remove falsehood and lies far from me;

Give me neither poverty nor riches—

^hFeed me with the food allotted to me;

⁹ⁱLest I be full and deny You,

And say, “Who is the Lord?”

Or lest I be poor and steal,

And profane the name of my God.

¹⁰Do not malign a servant to his master,

Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.

¹¹There is a generation that curses its ^jfather,

And does not bless its mother.

¹²There is a generation ^kthat is pure in its own eyes,

Yet is not washed from its filthiness.

¹³There is a generation—oh, how ^llofty are their eyes!

And their eyelids are ²lifted up.

^14mThere is a generation whose teeth are like swords,

And whose fangs are like knives,

ⁿTo devour the poor from off the earth,

And the needy from among men.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters—

Give and Give!

There are three things that are never satisfied,

Four never say, “Enough!”:

^16oThe ³grave,

The barren womb,

The earth that is not satisfied with water—

And the fire never says, “Enough!”

^17pThe eye that mocks his father,

And scorns obedience to his mother,

The ravens of the valley will pick it out,

And the young eagles will eat it.

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

Yes, four which I do not understand:

¹⁹The way of an eagle in the air,

The way of a serpent on a rock,

The way of a ship in the ⁴midst of the sea,

And the way of a man with a virgin.

²⁰This is the way of an adulterous woman:

She eats and wipes her mouth,

And says, “I have done no wickedness.”

²¹For three things the earth is perturbed,

Yes, for four it cannot bear up:

^22qFor a servant when he reigns,

A fool when he is filled with food,

²³A ⁵hateful woman when she is married,

And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.

²⁴There are four things which are little on the earth,

But they are exceedingly wise:

^25rThe ants are a people not strong,

Yet they prepare their food in the summer;

^26sThe ⁶rock badgers are a feeble folk,

Yet they make their homes in the crags;

²⁷The locusts have no king,

Yet they all advance in ranks;

²⁸The ⁷spider skillfully grasps with its hands,

And it is in kings’ palaces.

²⁹There are three things which are majestic in pace,

Yes, four which are stately in walk:

³⁰A lion, which is mighty among beasts

And does not turn away from any;

³¹A ⁸greyhound,

A male goat also,

And ⁹a king whose troops are with him.

³²If you have been foolish in exalting yourself,

Or if you have devised evil, ^tput your hand on your mouth.

³³For as the churning of milk produces butter,

And wringing the nose produces blood,

So the forcing of wrath produces strife.