Sayings of Agur

30 The sayings(A) of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance.

This man’s utterance to Ithiel:

“I am weary, God,
    but I can prevail.[a]
Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
    I do not have human understanding.
I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.(B)
Who has gone up(C) to heaven and come down?
    Whose hands(D) have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters(E) in a cloak?(F)
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name,(G) and what is the name of his son?
    Surely you know!

“Every word of God is flawless;(H)
    he is a shield(I) to those who take refuge in him.
Do not add(J) to his words,
    or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

“Two things I ask of you, Lord;
    do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
    give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.(K)
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown(L) you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’(M)
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonor the name of my God.(N)

10 “Do not slander a servant to their master,
    or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

11 “There are those who curse their fathers
    and do not bless their mothers;(O)
12 those who are pure in their own eyes(P)
    and yet are not cleansed of their filth;(Q)
13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty,(R)
    whose glances are so disdainful;
14 those whose teeth(S) are swords
    and whose jaws are set with knives(T)
to devour(U) the poor(V) from the earth
    and the needy from among mankind.(W)

15 “The leech has two daughters.
    ‘Give! Give!’ they cry.

“There are three things that are never satisfied,(X)
    four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
16 the grave,(Y) the barren womb,
    land, which is never satisfied with water,
    and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

17 “The eye that mocks(Z) a father,
    that scorns an aged mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
    will be eaten by the vultures.(AA)

18 “There are three things that are too amazing 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 on the high seas,
    and the way of a man with a young woman.

20 “This is the way of an adulterous woman:
    She eats and wipes her mouth
    and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’(AB)

21 “Under three things the earth trembles,
    under four it cannot bear up:
22 a servant who becomes king,(AC)
    a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
23 a contemptible woman who gets married,
    and a servant who displaces her mistress.

24 “Four things on earth are small,
    yet they are extremely wise:
25 Ants are creatures of little strength,
    yet they store up their food in the summer;(AD)
26 hyraxes(AE) are creatures of little power,
    yet they make their home in the crags;
27 locusts(AF) have no king,
    yet they advance together in ranks;
28 a lizard can be caught with the hand,
    yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

29 “There are three things that are stately in their stride,
    four that move with stately bearing:
30 a lion, mighty among beasts,
    who retreats before nothing;
31 a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
    and a king secure against revolt.[b]

32 “If you play the fool and exalt yourself,
    or if you plan evil,
    clap your hand over your mouth!(AG)
33 For as churning cream produces butter,
    and as twisting the nose produces blood,
    so stirring up anger produces strife.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 30:1 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text utterance to Ithiel, / to Ithiel and Ukal:
  2. Proverbs 30:31 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.

Sayings of Agur

30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. An oracle.

Thus says the man: I am weary, O God;
    I am weary, O God, and am wasting away.[a](A)
Surely I am too stupid to be human;
    I do not have human understanding.(B)
I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I knowledge of the holy ones.[b](C)
Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
    Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of the hand?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is the person’s name?
    And what is the name of the person’s child?
    Surely you know!(D)

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

Two things I ask of you;
    do not deny them to me before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
    give me neither poverty nor riches;
    feed me with the food that I need,(G)
lest I be full and deny you
    and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or I be poor and steal
    and profane the name of my God.(H)

10 Do not slander a servant to a master,
    lest the servant curse you, and you be held guilty.(I)

11 There are those who curse their fathers
    and do not bless their mothers.(J)
12 There are those who are pure in their own eyes,
    yet are not cleansed of their filthiness.(K)
13 There are those—how lofty are their eyes,
    how high their eyelids lift!—(L)
14 there are those whose teeth are swords,
    whose teeth are knives
to devour the poor from off the earth,
    the needy from among mortals.(M)

15 The leech has two daughters;
    “Give, give,” they cry.
Three things are never satisfied;
    four never say, “Enough”:
16 Sheol, the barren womb,
    the earth ever-thirsty for water,
    and the fire that never says, “Enough.”(N)

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

18 Three things are too wonderful for me;
    four 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 on the high seas,
    and the way of a man with a woman.

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

21 Under three things the earth trembles;
    under four it cannot bear up:
22 a slave when he becomes king
    and a fool when glutted with food,(Q)
23 a contemptible woman when she gets a husband
    and a maid when she supplants her mistress.

24 Four things on earth are small,
    yet they are exceedingly wise:
25 the ants are a people without strength,
    yet they provide their food in the summer;(R)
26 the badgers are a people without power,
    yet they make their homes in the rocks;(S)
27 the locusts have no king,
    yet all of them march in rank;
28 the lizard[c] can be grasped in the hand,
    yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

29 Three things are stately in their stride;
    four are stately in their gait:
30 the lion, which is mightiest among wild animals
    and does not turn back before any;(T)
31 the strutting rooster,[d] the he-goat,
    and a king against whom none can stand.

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

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 30.1 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 30.3 Or Holy One
  3. 30.28 Or spider
  4. 30.31 Gk Syr Tg Compare Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain