Proverbs 30

1 The words of Agur son of Jakeh—the utterance: This man declared to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:⋮

2 Surely I am more like an animal than any human and I do not have the understanding of a human being.⋮

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 up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has gathered up the waters in a 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!⋮

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 discipline you, and you will be proved to be a liar.⋮

7 Two things I ask of you, do not withhold them from me before I die:⋮

8 Put vanity and lies far away from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches, just give me the food I need.⋮

9 For if I have too much, I might deny you and say, “Who is Yahweh?” Or if I become poor, I might steal and profane the name of my God.⋮

10 Do not slander a slave before his master, or he will curse you and you will be held guilty.⋮

11 There is a generation that curses their father and does not bless their mother.⋮

12 There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes, and yet they are not washed of their filth.⋮

13 There is a generation whose eyes are raised up, and how high are their eyelids lifted up!⋮

14 There is a generation whose teeth are swords, and their jawbones are like knives, so they may devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among humanity.⋮

15 The leech has two daughters: “Give and give” they cry. There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, “Enough”:⋮

16 Sheol; the barren womb; land that is never satisfied with water; and the fire that never says, “Enough!”⋮

17 The eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, his eyes will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, and he will be eaten by the vultures.⋮

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

19 the way of an eagle in the sky; the way of a snake on a rock; the way of a ship in the heart of the sea; and the way of a man with a young woman.⋮

20 This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and she wipes her mouth and says, “I have done nothing wrong.”⋮

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

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

23 a hated woman when she marries; and a maid when she takes the place of her mistress.⋮

24 Four things on earth are small and yet they are very wise:⋮

25 the ants are creatures that are not strong, but they prepare their food in the summer;⋮

26 the rock badgers are not mighty creatures, but they make their homes in the rocks.⋮

27 Locusts have no king, but all of them march in rank.⋮

28 As for the lizard, you can hold it in your two hands, yet they are found in kings' palaces.⋮

29 There are three things that are stately in their stride and four that are stately in how they walk:⋮

30 a lion, strongest among wild animals— it does not turn away from anything;⋮

31 a strutting rooster; a goat; and a king whose soldiers are beside him.⋮

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

33 As churning milk makes butter and as one's nose will produce blood if it is twisted, so deeds done in anger produce conflict.⋮