Proverbs - Chapter 30

Parables of Agur

¹ The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, [his] utterance. This man declared to Ithiel -- to Ithiel and Ucal:

² Surely I [am] more stupid than [any] man, And do not have the understanding of a man.

³ I neither learned wisdom Nor have knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴ Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who 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?

⁵ Every word of God [is] pure; He [is] a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

⁶ Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

⁷ Two [things] I request of You (Deprive me not before I die):

⁸ Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches -- Feed me with the food allotted to me;

⁹ Lest 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.

¹⁰ Do not malign a servant to his master, Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.

¹¹ [There is] a generation [that] curses its father, And does not bless its mother.

¹² [There is] a generation [that is] pure in its own eyes, [Yet] is not washed from its filthiness.

¹³ [There is] a generation -- oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up.

¹⁴ [There is] a generation whose teeth [are like] swords, And whose fangs [are like] knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, And the needy from [among] men.

¹⁵ The leech has two daughters -- Give [and] Give! There are three [things that] are never satisfied, Four never say, "Enough!":

¹⁶ The grave, The barren womb, The earth [that] is not satisfied with water -- And the fire never says, "Enough!"

¹⁷ The 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.

¹⁸ There are three [things which] are too wonderful for me, Yes, four [which] I do not understand:

¹⁹ The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin.

²⁰ This [is] the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, "I have done no wickedness."

²¹ For three [things] the earth is perturbed, Yes, for four it cannot bear up:

²² For a servant when he reigns, A fool when he is filled with food,

²³ A hateful [woman] when she is married, And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.

²⁴ There are four [things which] are little on the earth, But they [are] exceedingly wise:

²⁵ The ants [are] a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer;

²⁶ The rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags;

²⁷ The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks;

²⁸ The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings' palaces.

²⁹ There are three [things which] are majestic in pace, Yes, four [which] are stately in walk:

³⁰ A lion, [which is] mighty among beasts And does not turn away from any;

³¹ A greyhound, A male goat also, And a king [whose] troops [are] with him.

³² If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, Or if you have devised evil, [put your] hand on [your] mouth.

³³ For [as] the churning of milk produces butter, And wringing the nose produces blood, So the forcing of wrath produces strife.