Proverbs 30-31

English Standard Version

The Words of Agur

30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.^[a]

The man declares, I am weary, O God;
    I am weary, O God, and worn out.^[b]
²Surely I am too ^(A)stupid to be a man.
    I have not the understanding of a man.
³I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I knowledge of ^(B)the Holy One.
⁴Who 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.

⁷Two things I ask of you;
    deny them not to me ^(K)before I die:
⁸Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
    give me neither poverty nor riches;
    feed me with the food that is ^(L)needful for me,
⁹lest 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.

¹¹There are those^[c] who ^(S)curse their fathers
    and do not bless their mothers.
¹²There are those who are ^(T)clean in their own eyes
    but are not washed of their filth.
¹³There are those—how ^(U)lofty are their eyes,
    how high their eyelids lift!
¹⁴There 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.

¹⁵The 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.”

¹⁷The 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:
¹⁹the 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.

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

²¹Under ^(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;
²⁷the locusts have no ^(AT)king,
    yet all of them march in ^(AU)rank;
²⁸the 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:
³⁰the lion, which is mightiest among beasts
    and ^(AX)does not turn back before any;
³¹the ^(AY)strutting rooster,^[e] the he-goat,
    and a king whose army is with him.^[f]

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

The Words of King Lemuel

31 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:

²What are you doing, my son?^[g] What are you doing, ^(BA)son of my womb?
    What are you doing, ^(BB)son of my vows?
³Do ^(BC)not give your strength to women,
    your ways to those ^(BD)who destroy kings.
⁴^(BE)It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
    it is not for kings ^(BF)to drink wine,
    or for rulers to take ^(BG)strong drink,
⁵lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
    and ^(BH)pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
⁶Give strong drink to the one who ^(BI)is perishing,
    and wine to ^(BJ)those in bitter distress;^[h]
⁷^(BK)let them drink and forget their poverty
    and remember their misery no more.
⁸^(BL)Open your mouth for the mute,
    for the rights of all who are destitute.^[i]
⁹Open your mouth, ^(BM)judge righteously,
    ^(BN)defend the rights of ^(BO)the poor and needy.

The Woman Who Fears the Lord

¹⁰^[j] ^(BP)An excellent wife who can find?
    She is far more precious than ^(BQ)jewels.
¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her,
    and he will have no lack of gain.
¹²She does him good, and not harm,
    all the days of her life.
¹³She ^(BR)seeks wool and flax,
    and works with willing hands.
¹⁴She is like the ships of the merchant;
    she brings her food from afar.
¹⁵She ^(BS)rises while it is yet night
    and ^(BT)provides food for her household
    and portions for her maidens.
¹⁶She considers a field and buys it;
    with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷She ^(BU)dresses herself^[k] with strength
    and makes her arms strong.
¹⁸She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
    Her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹She puts her hands to the distaff,
    and her hands hold the spindle.
²⁰She ^(BV)opens her hand to ^(BW)the poor
    and reaches out her hands to ^(BX)the needy.
²¹She is not afraid of snow for her household,
    for all her household are clothed in ^(BY)scarlet.^[l]
²²She makes ^(BZ)bed coverings for herself;
    her clothing is ^(CA)fine linen and ^(CB)purple.
²³Her husband is known in ^(CC)the gates
    when he sits among the elders of the land.
²⁴She makes ^(CD)linen garments and sells them;
    she delivers sashes to the merchant.
²⁵^(CE)Strength and dignity are her clothing,
    and she laughs at the time to come.
²⁶She opens her mouth with wisdom,
    and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
²⁷She looks well to the ways of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸Her children rise up and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹“Many ^(CF)women have done ^(CG)excellently,
    but you surpass them all.”
³⁰^(CH)Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
³¹Give her of the fruit of her hands,
    and let her works praise her in the gates.

Footnotes

Proverbs 30:1 Or Jakeh, the man of Massa
Proverbs 30:1 Revocalization; Hebrew The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal
Proverbs 30:11 Hebrew There is a generation; also verses 12, 13, 14
Proverbs 30:15 Or “Give, give,” they cry
Proverbs 30:31 Or the magpie, or the greyhound; Hebrew girt-of-loins
Proverbs 30:31 Or against whom there is no rising up
Proverbs 31:2 Hebrew What, my son?
Proverbs 31:6 Hebrew those bitter in soul
Proverbs 31:8 Hebrew are sons of passing away
Proverbs 31:10 Verses 10–31 are an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
Proverbs 31:17 Hebrew She girds her loins
Proverbs 31:21 Or in double thickness

1 Corinthians 4

English Standard Version

The Ministry of Apostles

4 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and ^(A)stewards of the mysteries of God. ²Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. ³But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴^(B)For I am not aware of anything against myself, ^(C)but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵Therefore ^(D)do not pronounce judgment before the time, ^(E)before the Lord comes, ^(F)who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. ^(G)Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

⁶I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers,^[a] that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may ^(H)be puffed up in favor of one against another. ⁷For who sees anything different in you? ^(I)What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

⁸Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! ⁹For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, ^(J)like men sentenced to death, because we ^(K)have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. ¹⁰^(L)We are fools for Christ's sake, but ^(M)you are wise in Christ. ^(N)We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. ¹¹To the present hour ^(O)we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and ^(P)buffeted and ^(Q)homeless, ¹²and we ^(R)labor, working with our own hands. ^(S)When reviled, we bless; ^(T)when persecuted, we endure; ¹³when slandered, we entreat. ^(U)We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, ^(V)the refuse of all things.

¹⁴I do not write these things ^(W)to make you ashamed, but to admonish you ^(X)as my beloved children. ¹⁵For ^(Y)though you have countless^[b] guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For ^(Z)I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ¹⁶I urge you, then, ^(AA)be imitators of me. ¹⁷That is why ^(AB)I sent^[c] you Timothy, ^(AC)my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ,^[d] ^(AD)as I teach them everywhere in every church. ¹⁸Some are ^(AE)arrogant, ^(AF)as though I were not coming to you. ¹⁹But ^(AG)I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. ²⁰For ^(AH)the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. ²¹What do you wish? ^(AI)Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?