Proverbs — Chapter 30

1The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,

2Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.

3I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.

4Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?

5Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

6Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

7Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:

8Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:

9Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

10Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.

11There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.

12There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

13There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.

14There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

15The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:

16The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.

17The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

18There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:

19The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

20Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

21For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:

22For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;

23For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

24There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:

25The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

26The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;

27The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

28The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.

29There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:

30A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;

31A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.

32If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.

33Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

1The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; The oracle. The man saith unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:

2Surely I am more brutish than any man, And have not the understanding of a man;

3And I have not learned wisdom, Neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One.

4Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in his garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son`s name, if thou knowest?

5Every word of God is tried: He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him.

6Add thou not unto his words, Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

7Two things have I asked of thee; Deny me [them] not before I die:

8Remove far from me falsehood and lies; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is needful for me:

9Lest I be full, and deny [thee], and say, Who is Jehovah? Or lest I be poor, and steal, And use profanely the name of my God.

10Slander not a servant unto his master, Lest he curse thee, and thou be held guilty.

11There is a generation that curse their father, And bless not their mother.

12There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, And [yet] are not washed from their filthiness.

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

14There is a generation whose teeth are [as] swords, and their jaw teeth [as] knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

15The horseleach hath two daughters, [crying], Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, [Yea], four that say not, Enough:

16Sheol; and the barren womb; The earth that is not satisfied with water; And the fire that saith not, Enough.

17The eye that mocketh at his father, And despiseth to obey his mother, The ravens of the valley shall pick it out, And the young eagles shall eat it.

18There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yea, four which I know not:

19The way of an eagle in the air; The way of a serpent upon a rock; The way of a ship in the midst of the sea; And the way of a man with a maiden.

20So is the way of an adulterous woman; She eateth, and wipeth her mouth, And saith, I have done no wickedness.

21For three things the earth doth tremble, And for four, [which] it cannot bear:

22For a servant when he is king; And a fool when he is filled with food;

23For an odious woman when she is married; And a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

24There are four things which are little upon the earth, But they are exceeding wise:

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

26The conies are but a feeble folk, Yet make they their houses in the rocks;

27The locusts have no king, Yet go they forth all of them by bands;

28The lizard taketh hold with her hands, Yet is she in kings` palaces.

29There are three things which are stately in their march, Yea, four which are stately in going:

30The lion, which is mightiest among beasts, And turneth not away for any;

31The greyhound; the he-goat also; And the king against whom there is no rising up.

32If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, Or if thou hast thought evil, [Lay] thy hand upon thy mouth.

33For the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, And the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood; So the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

1The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh; an oracle: This man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ukal:

2Surely I am more brutish than any other human being, and I do not have human understanding;

3I have not learned wisdom, nor can I have knowledge of the Holy One.

4Who has ascended into heaven, and then descended? Who has gathered up the winds in his fists? Who has bound up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you can know!

5Every word of God is purified; he is like a shield for those who take refuge in him.

6Do not add to his words, lest he reprove you and prove you to be a liar.

7Two things I have asked from you; do not refuse me before I die:

8Remove falsehood and lies far from me; do not give me poverty or riches; feed me with my allotted portion of bread,

9lest I become satisfied and act deceptively and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I become poor and steal and demean the name of my God.

10Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you are found guilty.

11There is a generation who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.

12There is a generation who are pure in their own opinion and yet are not washed from their filthiness.

13There is a generation whose eyes are so lofty and whose eyelids are lifted up disdainfully.

14There is a generation whose teeth are like swords and whose molars are like knives to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among the human race.

15The leech has two daughters: “Give! Give!” There are three things that will never be satisfied, four that have never said, “Enough”—

16the grave, the barren womb; earth has not been satisfied with water; and fire has never said, “Enough!”

17The eye that mocks at a father and despises obeying a mother— the ravens of the valley will peck it out, and the young vultures will eat it.

18There are three things that are too wonderful for me, four that I do not understand:

19the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship in the sea, and the way of a man with a woman.

20This is the way of an adulterous woman: She has eaten and wiped her mouth and has said, “I have not done wrong.”

21Under three things the earth has trembled, and under four things it cannot bear up:

22under a servant who becomes king, under a fool who becomes stuffed with food,

23under an unloved woman who becomes married, and under a female servant who dispossesses her mistress.

24There are four things on earth that are small, but they are exceedingly wise:

25Ants are creatures with little strength, but they prepare their food in the summer;

26rock badgers are creatures with little power, but they make their homes in the crags;

27locusts have no king, but they all go forward by ranks;

28a lizard you can catch with the hand, but it gets into the palaces of the king.

29There are three things that are magnificent in their step, four things that move about magnificently:

30a lion, mightiest of the beasts, who does not retreat from anything;

31a strutting rooster, a male goat, and a king with his army around him.

32If you have done foolishly by exalting yourself or if you have planned evil, put your hand over your mouth!

33For as the churning of milk produces butter and as punching the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.

1The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; the revelation: the man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:

2“Surely I am the most ignorant man, and don’t have a man’s understanding.

3I have not learned wisdom, neither do I have the knowledge of the Holy One.

4Who has ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in his 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 flawless. He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

6Don’t you add to his words, lest he reprove you, and you be found a liar.

7“Two things I have asked of you; don’t deny me before I die:

8Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me;

9lest I be full, deny you, and say, ‘Who is Yahweh?’ or lest I be poor, and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

10“Don’t slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.

11There is a generation that curses their father, and doesn’t bless their mother.

12There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes, yet are not washed from their filthiness.

13There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes! Their eyelids are lifted up.

14There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and their jaws like knives, to devour the poor from the earth, and the needy from among men.

15“The leach has two daughters: ‘Give, give.’ “There are three things that are never satisfied; four that don’t say, ‘Enough:’

16Sheol, the barren womb; the earth that is not satisfied with water; and the fire that doesn’t say, ‘Enough.’

17“The eye that mocks at his father, and scorns obedience to his mother: the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, the young eagles shall eat it.

18“There are three things which are too amazing for me, four which I don’t understand:

19The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent on a rock; the way of a ship in the middle of the sea; and the way of a man with a maiden.

20“So is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth, and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’

21“For three things the earth trembles, and under four, it can’t bear up:

22For a servant when he is king; a fool when he is filled with food;

23for an unloved woman when she is married; and a servant who is heir to her mistress.

24“There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise:

25the ants are not a strong people, yet they provide their food in the summer.

26The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks.

27The locusts have no king, yet they advance in ranks.

28You can catch a lizard with your hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.

29“There are three things which are stately in their march, four which are stately in going:

30The lion, which is mightiest among animals, and doesn’t turn away for any;

31the greyhound, the male goat also; and the king against whom there is no rising up.

32“If you have done foolishly in lifting up yourself, or if you have thought evil, put your hand over your mouth.

33For as the churning of milk produces butter, and the wringing of the nose produces blood; so the forcing of wrath produces strife.”