Proverbs 30
1 Words of Agur son of Jakeh—the oracle. The man’s declaration to Ithiel; to Ithiel and Ucal.
2 For I am too brutish to be a man; I lack human understanding.
3 I have not learned wisdom, nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his hands? Who has wrapped 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 tested; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and you will be found a liar.
7 Two things I ask of you; do not deny them to me before I die.
8 Keep falsehood and lying far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the portion allotted to me.
9 Otherwise I may be satisfied and deny you, saying, “Who is the LORD?” Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.
10 Do not slander a servant to his master, or he may curse you and you will be 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 has not been washed clean of its filth.
13 There is a generation—how haughty its eyes are, how its eyelids are raised!
14 There is a generation whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are knives, to devour the poor of the land and the needy among people.
15 The leech has two daughters: “Give, give.” Three things are never satisfied; four never say, “Enough.”
16 Sheol, the barren womb, the land that is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, “Enough.”
17 The eye that mocks its father and despises obedience to its mother—the ravens of the valley will pluck it out, and the young eagles will eat it.
18 Three things are too wonderful for me; four I cannot understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky, 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 young woman.
20 This is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats, wipes her mouth, and says, “I have done nothing wrong.”
21 Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot endure:
22 a servant who becomes king, and a fool who has plenty of food;
23 a hated woman who gets married, and a slave girl who takes the place of her mistress.
24 Four things on earth are small, yet they are wise among the wise:
25 the ants are a people without strength, yet they prepare their food in summer;
26 the rock hyraxes are a people without power, yet they make their homes in the rocks;
27 the locusts have no king, yet they all march in formation;
28 the lizard can be caught with the hands, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
29 Three things have a stately stride; four move with dignity:
30 the lion, mightiest among the beasts, who retreats before no one;
31 the strutting rooster, the he-goat, and a king with his army beside him.
32 If you have acted foolishly by exalting yourself, or if you have planned evil, put your hand over your mouth.
33 For churning milk produces butter, squeezing the nose produces blood, and stirring up anger produces strife.
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