PROVERBS 30 [†]The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. [1]

The man declares, I am weary, O God;

I am weary, O God, and worn out. [2]

2[†] Surely I am too  m stupid to be a man.

I have not the understanding of a man.

3 I have not learned wisdom,

nor have I knowledge of  n the Holy One.

4[^][†] Who has  o ascended to heaven and come down?

Who has  p gathered the wind in his fists?

Who has  q wrapped up the waters in a garment?

Who has established all  r the ends of the earth?

 s What is his name, and what is his son’s name?

Surely you know!

5[†]  t Every word of God proves true;

he is  u a shield to those who take refuge in him.

6  v Do not add to his words,

lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

7[†] Two things I ask of you;

deny them not to me  w before I die:

8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;

give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with the food that is  x needful for me,

9 lest I be  y full and  z deny you

and say,  a “Who is the LORD?”

or lest I be poor and steal

 b and profane the name of my God.

10[†]  c Do not slander a servant to his master,

 d lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.

11[†] There are those [3] who  e curse their fathers

and do not bless their mothers.

12 There are those who are  f clean in their own eyes

but are not washed of their filth.

13 There are those—how  g lofty are their eyes,

how high their eyelids lift!

14 There are those whose teeth are  h swords,

whose  i fangs are knives,

to  j devour the poor from off the earth,

the needy from among mankind.

15[†] The leech has two daughters:

Give and Give. [4]

 k Three things are never satisfied;

 k four never say, “Enough”:

16  l Sheol,  m the barren womb,

the land never satisfied with water,

and the fire that never says, “Enough.”

17[†] The eye that  n mocks a father

and  o scorns to obey a mother

will  p be picked out by  q the ravens of the valley

and eaten by the vultures.

18[†]  k Three things are  r too wonderful for me;

 k four I do not understand:

19 the way of an eagle in the sky,

the way of a serpent on a rock,

the way of a ship on the high seas,

and the way of a man with a virgin.

20 This is the way of an adulteress:

she eats and wipes her mouth

and says, “I have done no wrong.”

21[†] Under  k three things  s the earth trembles;

under  k four it cannot bear up:

22  t a slave when he becomes king,

and a fool when he is  u filled with food;

23  v an unloved woman when she  w gets a husband,

and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.

24[†]  k Four things on earth are small,

but they are exceedingly wise:

25  x the ants are a people not strong,

yet they provide their food in the summer;

26  y the rock badgers are a people not mighty,

yet they make their homes in the cliffs;

27 the locusts have no  z king,

yet all of them march in  a rank;

28 the lizard you can take in your hands,

yet it is in kings’ palaces.

29[†]  b Three things are stately in their tread;

 b four are stately in their stride:

30 the lion, which is mightiest among beasts

and  c does not turn back before any;

31 the  d strutting rooster, [5] the he-goat,

and a king whose army is with him. [6]

32[†] If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,

or if you have been devising evil,

 e put your hand on your mouth.

33 For pressing milk produces curds,

pressing the nose produces blood,

and pressing anger produces strife.