Proverbs 30:1-31:9

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.

Notas al pie

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