30 aThe words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even bthe prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,

2  cSurely I am more dbrutish than any man,

And have not the understanding of a man.

3  I neither learned wisdom,

cNor †have ethe knowledge of the holy.

4  fWho hath ascended up into heaven, or descended?

gWho hath gathered the wind in his fists?

hWho hath bound the waters in a garment?

Who hath established iall the ends of the earth?

kWhat is his name, and what is his son’s name, lif thou canst tell?

5  Every mnword of God is †pure:

nHe is a oshield unto them that put their trust in him.

6  pAdd thou not unto his words,

Lest he reprove thee, and thou qbe found a liar.

7  Two things have I required of thee;

†Deny me them not rbefore I die:

8  Remove far from me vanity and lies:

Give me neither poverty nor riches;

Feed me with food †convenient for me:

9  sLest I be full, and †deny thee,

And say, Who is the Lord?

Or lest I be poor, and steal,

And ttake the name of my God in vain.

10  †Accuse not a servant unto his master,

Lest he ucurse thee, and wthou be found guilty.

11  There is a generation that xcurseth their father,

And doth not bless their mother.

12  There is a generation that are ypure in their own eyes,

And yet is not washed from their filthiness.

13  There is a generation, O how zlofty are their eyes!

And their eyelids are lifted up.

14  There is a generation, awhose teeth are as swords,

And their bjaw teeth as knives,

To cdevour the poor from off the earth,

And the needy from among men.

15  The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give.

There are dthree things that are never satisfied,

Yea, dfour things say not, †It is enough:

16  eThe grave; and fthe barren womb;

The earth that is not filled with water;

And the fire that saith not, It is enough.

17  The eye that gmocketh at his father,

And hdespiseth ito obey his mother,

kThe ravens of ||the valley shall lpick it out,

And the young eagles shall eat it.

18  There be dthree things which are mtoo wonderful for me,

Yea, dfour which I know not:

19 nThe way of an eagle in the air;

The way of a serpent upon a rock;

oThe way of a ship in the †midst of the sea;

And the way of a man with a maid.

20  Such is the way of an adulterous woman;

She eateth, and wipeth her mouth,

And saith, I have done no wickedness.

21  For dthree things pthe earth is disquieted,

And for dfour which it cannot bear:

22  qFor a servant when he reigneth;

And ra fool when he is filled with meat;

23  For an sodious woman twhen she is married;

And an handmaid uthat is heir to her mistress.

24  There be four things which are little upon the earth,

But they are †exceeding wise:

25  vThe ants are a people not strong,

Yet wthey prepare their meat in the summer;

26  xThe yconies are but a feeble folk,

Yet make they their houses in xthe rocks;

27  The locusts zhave no king,

Yet go they forth all of them †aby bands;

28 The spider taketh hold with her hands,

And is in kings’ palaces.

29  There be bthree things which go well,

Yea, bfour are comely in going:

30  A clion which is strongest among beasts,

And dturneth not away for any;

31  A ||†greyhound; an he goat also;

And a king, against whom there is no rising up.

32  If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself,

Or if thou hast ethought evil,

fLay thine hand upon thy mouth.

33  Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter,

And the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood:

So the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.