The man declares, I am weary, O God;
    I am weary, O God, and worn out.^[b]
2 Surely I am too ^(A)stupid to be a man.
    I have not the understanding of a man.
³ I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I knowledge of ^(B)the Holy One.
⁴ Who has ^(C)ascended to heaven and come down?
    Who has ^(D)gathered the wind in his fists?
Who has ^(E)wrapped up the waters in a garment?
    Who has established all ^(F)the ends of the earth?
^(G)What is his name, and what is his son's name?
    Surely you know!

^5 (H)Every word of God proves true;
    he is ^(I)a shield to those who take refuge in him.
^6 (J)Do not add to his words,
    lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

⁷ Two things I ask of you;
    deny them not to me ^(K)before I die:
⁸ Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
    give me neither poverty nor riches;
    feed me with the food that is ^(L)needful for me,
⁹ lest I be ^(M)full and ^(N)deny you
    and say, ^(O)“Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
    ^(P)and profane the name of my God.

^10 (Q)Do not slander a servant to his master,
    ^(R)lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.

¹¹ There are those^[c] who ^(S)curse their fathers
    and do not bless their mothers.
¹² There are those who are ^(T)clean in their own eyes
    but are not washed of their filth.
¹³ There are those—how ^(U)lofty are their eyes,
    how high their eyelids lift!
¹⁴ There are those whose teeth are ^(V)swords,
    whose ^(W)fangs are knives,
to ^(X)devour the poor from off the earth,
    the needy from among mankind.

¹⁵ The leech has two daughters:
    Give and Give.^[d]
(Y)Three things are never satisfied;
    ^(Z)four never say, “Enough”:
^16 (AA)Sheol, ^(AB)the barren womb,
    the land never satisfied with water,
    and the fire that never says, “Enough.”

¹⁷ The eye that ^(AC)mocks a father
    and ^(AD)scorns to obey a mother
will ^(AE)be picked out by ^(AF)the ravens of the valley
    and eaten by the vultures.

^18 (AG)Three things are ^(AH)too wonderful for me;
    ^(AI)four I do not understand:
¹⁹ the 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.

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

²¹ Under ^(AJ)three things ^(AK)the earth trembles;
    under ^(AL)four it cannot bear up:
^22 (AM)a slave when he becomes king,
    and a fool when he is ^(AN)filled with food;
^23 (AO)an unloved woman when she ^(AP)gets a husband,
    and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.

^24 (AQ)Four things on earth are small,
    but they are exceedingly wise:
^25 (AR)the ants are a people not strong,
    yet they provide their food in the summer;
^26 (AS)the rock badgers are a people not mighty,
    yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
²⁷ the locusts have no ^(AT)king,
    yet all of them march in ^(AU)rank;
²⁸ the lizard you can take in your hands,
    yet it is in kings' palaces.

^29 (AV)Three things are stately in their tread;
    ^(AW)four are stately in their stride:
³⁰ the lion, which is mightiest among beasts
    and ^(AX)does not turn back before any;
³¹ the ^(AY)strutting rooster,^[e] the he-goat,
    and a king whose army is with him.^[f]

³² If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,
    or if you have been devising evil,
    ^(AZ)put your hand on your mouth.
³³ For pressing milk produces curds,
    pressing the nose produces blood,
    and pressing anger produces strife.