Proverbs

The Words of Agur

1These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh—the burden that this man declared to Ithiel: “I am weary, O God,and worn out.

2Surely I am the most ignorant of men,and I lack the understanding of a man.

3I have not learned wisdom,and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.

4Who has ascended to heaven and come down?Who has gathered the wind in His hands?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 the name of His Son—surely you know!

5Every word of God is flawless;He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

6Do not add to His words,lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.

7Two things I ask of You—do not refuse me before I die:

8Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.

9Otherwise, I may have too muchand deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’Or I may become poor and steal,profaning the name of my God.

10Do not slander a servant to his master,or he will curse you, and you will bear the guilt.

11There is a generation of those who curse their fathersand do not bless their mothers.

12There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyesand yet unwashed of their filth.

13There is a generation—how haughty are their eyesand pretentious are their glances—

14there is a generation whose teeth are swordsand whose jaws are knives,devouring the oppressed from the earthand the needy from among men.

15The leech has two daughters:Give and Give. There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’:

16Sheol, the barren womb, land never satisfied with water, and fire that never says, ‘Enough!’

17As for the eye that mocks a fatherand scorns obedience to a mother,may the ravens of the valley pluck it outand young vultures devour it.

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

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

20This is the way of an adulteress:She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’

21Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up:

22a servant who becomes king, a fool who is filled with food,

23an unloved woman who marries, and a maidservant who supplants her mistress.

24Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise:

25The ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;

26the rock badgersare creatures of little power, yet they make their homes in the rocks;

27the locusts have no king, yet they all advance in formation;

28and the lizard can be caught in one’s hands, yet it is found in the palaces of kings.

29There are three things that are stately in their stride, and four that are impressive in their walk:

30a lion, mighty among beasts, refusing to retreat before anything;

31a strutting rooster; a he-goat; and a king with his army around him.

32If you have foolishly exalted yourselfor if you have plotted evil, put your hand over your mouth.

33For as the churning of milk yields butter,and the twisting of the nose draws blood, so the stirring of anger brings forth strife.”

1The words of Gatherer the son of Vomiter. The vision which the man spoke with whom God is, and who being strengthened by God, abiding with him, said:

2I am the most foolish of men, and the wisdom of men is not with me.

3I have not learned wisdom, and have not known the science of saints.

4Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended? who hath held the wind in his hands? who hath bound up the waters together as in a garment? who hath raised up all the borders of the earth? what is his name, and what is the name of his son, if thou knowest?

5Every word of God is fire tried: he is a buckler to them that hope in him.

6Add not any thing to his words, lest thou be reproved, and found a liar:

7Two things I have asked of thee, deny them not to me before I die.

8Remove far from me vanity, and lying words. Give me neither beggary, nor riches: give me only the necessaries of life:

9Lest perhaps being filled, I should be tempted to deny, and say: Who is the Lord? or being compelled by poverty, I should steal, and forswear the name of my God.

10Accuse not a servant to his master, lest he curse thee, and thou fall.

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

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

13A generation, whose eyes are lofty, and their eyelids lifted up on high.

14A generation, that for teeth hath swords, and grindeth with their jaw teeth, to devour the needy from off the earth, and the poor from among men.

15The horseleech hath two daughters that say: Bring, bring. There are three things that never are satisfied, and the fourth never saith: It is enough.

16Hell, and the mouth of the womb, and the earth which is not satisfied with water: and the fire never saith: It is enough.

17The eye that mocketh at his father, and that despiseth the labour of his mother in bearing him, let the ravens of the brooks pick it out, and the young eagles eat it.

18Three things are hard to me, and the fourth I am utterly ignorant of.

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 in youth.

20Such is also the way of an adulterous woman, who eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith: I have done no evil.

21By three things the earth is disturbed, and the fourth it cannot bear:

22By a slave when he reigneth: by a fool when he is filled with meat:

23By an odious woman when she is married: and by a bondwoman when she is heir to her mistress.

24There are four very little things of the earth, and they are wiser than the wise:

25The ants, a feeble people, which provide themselves food in the harvest:

26The rabbit, a weak people, which maketh its bed in the rock:

27The locust hath no king, yet they all go out by their bands.

28The stellio supporteth itself on hands, and dwelleth in kings’ houses.

29There are three things, which go well, and the fourth that walketh happily:

30A lion, the strongest of beasts, who hath no fear of any thing he meeteth:

31A cock girded about the loins: and a ram: and a king, whom none can resist.

32There is that hath appeared a fool after he was lifted up on high: for if he had understood, he would have laid his hand upon his mouth.

33And he that strongly squeezeth the papa to bring out milk, straineth out butter: and he that violently bloweth his nose, bringeth out blood: and he that provoketh wrath bringeth forth strife.