Proverbs 30

¹The words of Agur son of Jakeh . The oracle. The man declares , I am weary, O God ; I am weary, O God , and worn out .

²Surely I am too stupid to be a man . I have not the understanding of a man .

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

⁴Who has ascended to heaven and come down ? Who has gathered the wind in his fists ? Who has wrapped up 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 ? Surely you know !

⁵Every word of God proves true ; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

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

⁷Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die :

⁸Remove far from me falsehood and lying ; give me neither poverty nor riches ; feed me with the food that is needful for me,

⁹lest 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 .

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

¹¹There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers .

¹²There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth .

¹³There are those — how lofty are their eyes , how high their eyelids lift !

¹⁴There are those whose teeth are swords , whose fangs are knives , to devour the poor from off the earth , the needy from among mankind .

¹⁵The leech has two daughters : Give and Give . Three things are never satisfied ; four never say , Enough :

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

¹⁷The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures .

¹⁸Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand :

¹⁹the 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 .

²⁰This is the way of an adulteress : she eats and wipes her mouth and says , I have done no wrong .

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

²²a slave when he becomes king , and a fool when he is filled with food ;

²³an unloved woman when she gets a husband , and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress .

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

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

²⁶the rock badgers are a people not mighty , yet they make their homes in the cliffs ;

²⁷the locusts have no king , yet all of them march in rank ;

²⁸the lizard you can take in your hands , yet it is in kings ’ palaces .

²⁹Three things are stately in their tread ; four are stately in their stride :

³⁰the lion , which is mightiest among beasts and does not turn back before any ;

³¹the strutting rooster , the he-goat , and a king whose army is with him.

³²If you have been foolish , exalting yourself , or if you have been devising evil , put your hand on your mouth .

³³For pressing milk produces curds , pressing the nose produces blood , and pressing anger produces strife .