Proverbs 30

Evangelical Heritage Version

30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. An oracle.^[a]
This man declares:
I am weary, God. I am weary, God, and worn out,^[b]
2 because I am too unreasoning to be a man.
I do not even possess human understanding.
³ I have not learned wisdom.
I do not have knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴ Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in the palms of his hands?
Who has wrapped the water in a garment?
Who has set up all the ends of the earth?
What is his name and the name of his son?
Tell me if you know!

⁵ Every word of God has been refined.
He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
⁶ Do not add to his words.
If you do, he will correct you,
and you will be shown to be a liar.

⁷ Two things I have asked from you.
Do not keep them from me before I die:
⁸ Keep worthless speech and lies far from me.
Do not give me poverty or riches.
Give me food in the amount that is right for me.
⁹ Too much, and I may feel satisfied and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Too little, and I may become poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.

¹⁰ Do not slander a servant to his master.
If you do, he will curse you,
and you will be found guilty.
¹¹ There is a type of person who curses his father
and does not bless his mother.
¹² This person is pure in his own eyes,
but he is not washed from his filth.
¹³ This person—how lofty his eyes, how high his eyelids!
¹⁴ This person—his teeth are swords,
and his fangs are knives.
He uses them to devour oppressed people from the earth
and poor people from among humanity.

¹⁵ The leech has two daughters: Give! Give!
Three things are never satisfied.
Four never say, “Enough!”:
¹⁶ the grave,
    a closed womb,
    land that is never satisfied with water,
    and fire that never says, “Enough!”

¹⁷ An eye that mocks its father
and despises the obedience due its mother—
ravens of the valley will peck it out,
and young vultures will eat it.

¹⁸ Three things are too wonderful for me,
and four I cannot understand:
¹⁹ the way of an eagle in the sky,
    the way of a snake 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 a woman who commits adultery:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
and she says, “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

²¹ Three things make the earth tremble.
There are four things it cannot endure:
²² a servant when he becomes king,
    an arrogant fool when he is filled with food,
²³ a woman who is hated when she is married,
    and a slave girl when she replaces her master’s wife.

²⁴ Four things are small on the earth,
yet they are wiser than the wisest people:
²⁵ Ants are a species without strength,
    but they store their food in summer.
²⁶ Rock badgers are a species without power,
    but they make their home in a cliff.
²⁷ Locusts have no king,
    but they all march ahead in ranks.
²⁸ Lizards can be caught in your hands,
    but they live in kings’ palaces.

²⁹ Three things strut impressively.
Four walk with dignity:
³⁰ a lion, which is the mightiest among the animals,
    does not turn away from anything,
³¹ a strutting rooster,^[c]
    a male goat,
    and a king reviewing his troops.^[d]

³² If you have acted like a fool by exalting yourself,
or if you have been scheming,
put your hand over your mouth,
³³ because just as pressing milk produces cheese,^[e]
and pressing a nose brings forth blood,
so pressing one’s anger produces a fight.