Proverbs 30

¹ The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh, of Massa. Oracle of this man for Ithiel, for Ithiel and for Ucal.[*a]

² Surely I must be the most stupid of men, bereft of human intelligence,

³ I have not learnt wisdom, and I lack the knowledge of the Holy Ones.

⁴ Who has mounted to the heavens, then descended? Who has gathered the wind in the clasp of his hand? Who has wrapped the waters in his cloak? Who has set all the ends of the earth firm? What is his name, or the name of his son, if you know it?

⁵ Every word of God is unalloyed, he is the shield of those who take refuge in him.

⁶ To his words make no addition, lest he reprove you and know you for a fraud.

⁷ Two things I beg of you, do not grudge me them before I die:

⁸ keep falsehood and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches, grant me only my share of bread to eat,

⁹ for fear that surrounded by plenty, I should fall away and say, ‘Yahweh-who is Yahweh?’ or else, in destitution, take to stealing and profane the name of my God.

¹⁰ Do not denounce a slave to his master, lest he curse you, and you suffer for it.

¹¹ There is a breed of man who curses his father and does not bless his mother;

¹² a breed that, laying claim to purity, has yet not been cleansed of its filth;

¹³ a breed haughty of eye, with disdain in every glance;

¹⁴ a breed with swords for teeth, with knives for jaws, with which to devour the poor and rid the earth of them, to devour the needy and rid mankind of them.

¹⁵ The leech has two daughters: ‘Give, give!’ their cry. There are three insatiable things, four, indeed, that never say, ‘Enough!’

¹⁶ Sheol, the barren womb, earth which can never have its fill of water, fire which never says, ‘Enough!’

¹⁷ The eye which looks jeeringly on a father, and scornfully on an ageing mother, shall be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, and eaten by the vultures.

¹⁸ There are three things beyond my comprehension, four, indeed, that I do not understand:

¹⁹ the way of an eagle through the skies, the way of a snake over the rock, the way of a ship in mid-ocean, the way of a man with a girl.

²⁰ This is how the adulteress behaves: when she has eaten, she wipes her mouth clean and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong’.

²¹ There are three things at which the earth trembles, four, indeed, which it cannot endure:

²² a slave become king, a churlish man full-fed,

²³ a jilted girl wed at last, a maid supplanting mistress.

²⁴ There are four creatures little on the earth, though wisest of the wise:

²⁵ the ants, a race with no strength, yet in the summer they make sure of their food;

²⁶ the rock rabbits, a race with no defences, yet they make their home in the rocks;

²⁷ the locusts, these have no king, and yet they all march in good order;

²⁸ the lizard which you can catch in your hand, yet it frequents the palaces of kings.

²⁹ There are three things of stately tread, four, indeed, of stately bearing:

³⁰ the lion, bravest of beasts, he will draw back from nothing;

³¹ the cock that proudly struts among the hens, the he-goat, leader of the flock, and the king when he harangues his people.

³² If you have been foolish enough to fly into a passion and now have second thoughts, lay your hand on your lips.

³³ For by churning the milk you produce butter, by wringing the nose you produce blood, and by whipping up anger you produce strife.