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[a]Every word of God is tested;(A)
    he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Add nothing to his words,(B)
    lest he reprimand you, and you be proved a liar.

[b]Two things I ask of you,
    do not deny them to me before I die:
Put falsehood and lying far from me,
    give me neither poverty nor riches;
    provide me only with the food I need;
Lest, being full, I deny you,
    saying, “Who is the Lord?”
Or, being in want, I steal,
    and profane the name of my God.

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Footnotes

  1. 30:5–6 Verse 5, like the confession of the king in Ps 18:31 (and its parallel, 2 Sm 22:31), expresses total confidence in the one who rescues from death. Agur has refused a word from any other except God and makes an act of trust in God.
  2. 30:7–9 A prayer against lying words and for sufficiency of goods, lest reaction to riches or destitution lead to offenses against God.