Old/New Testament
VII. Sayings of Agur and Others
Chapter 30
1 [a]The words of Agur, son of Jakeh the Massaite:
The pronouncement of mortal man: “I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and I am exhausted.
2 I am more brute than human being,
without even human intelligence;
3 [b]Neither have I learned wisdom,
nor have I the knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down again—
who has cupped the wind in the hollow of the hand?
Who has bound up the waters in a cloak—
who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is that person’s name, or the name of his son?”[c]
5 [d]Every word of God is tested;(A)
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 Add nothing to his words,(B)
lest he reprimand you, and you be proved a liar.
7 [e]Two things I ask of you,
do not deny them to me before I die:
8 Put falsehood and lying far from me,
give me neither poverty nor riches;
provide me only with the food I need;
9 Lest, being full, I deny you,
saying, “Who is the Lord?”
Or, being in want, I steal,
and profane the name of my God.
10 Do not criticize servants to their master,
lest they curse you, and you have to pay the penalty.
11 [f]There are some who curse their fathers,
and do not bless their mothers.(C)
12 There are some pure in their own eyes,
yet not cleansed of their filth.
13 There are some—how haughty their eyes!
how overbearing their glance!
14 There are some—their teeth are swords,
their teeth are knives,
Devouring the needy from the earth,
and the poor from the human race.
15 [g]The leech has two daughters:
“Give,” and “Give.”
Three things never get their fill,
four never say, “Enough!”
16 Sheol, a barren womb,(D)
land that never gets its fill of water,
and fire, which never says, “Enough!”
17 The eye that mocks a father,
or scorns the homage due a mother,
Will be plucked out by brook ravens;
devoured by a brood of vultures.
18 [h]Three things are too wonderful for me,
yes, four I cannot understand:
19 The way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a serpent upon 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 adulterous woman:
she eats, wipes her mouth,
and says, “I have done no wrong.”[i]
21 [j]Under three things the earth trembles,
yes, under four it cannot bear up:
22 Under a slave who becomes king,
and a fool who is glutted with food;(E)
23 Under an unloved woman who is wed,
and a maidservant who displaces her mistress.
24 [k]Four things are among the smallest on the earth,
and yet are exceedingly wise:
25 Ants—a species not strong,
yet they store up their food in the summer;
26 Badgers—a species not mighty,
yet they make their home in the crags;
27 Locusts—they have no king,
yet they march forth in formation;
28 Lizards—you can catch them with your hands,
yet they find their way into kings’ palaces.
29 [l]Three things are stately in their stride,
yes, four are stately in their carriage:
30 The lion, mightiest of beasts,
retreats before nothing;
31 The strutting cock, and the he-goat,
and the king at the head of his people.
32 [m]If you have foolishly been proud
or presumptuous—put your hand on your mouth;
33 For as the churning of milk produces curds,
and the pressing of the nose produces blood,
the churning of anger produces strife.
VIII. Sayings of King Lemuel[n]
Chapter 31
1 The words of Lemuel, king of Massa,[o] the instruction his mother taught him:
2 What are you doing, my son![p]
what are you doing, son of my womb;
what are you doing, son of my vows!
3 Do not give your vigor to women,
or your strength[q] to those who ruin kings.
4 It is not for kings, Lemuel,
not for kings to drink wine;
strong drink is not for princes,
5 Lest in drinking they forget what has been decreed,
and violate the rights of any who are in need.
6 Give strong drink to anyone who is perishing,
and wine to the embittered;
7 When they drink, they will forget their misery,
and think no more of their troubles.
8 Open your mouth in behalf of the mute,
and for the rights of the destitute;
9 Open your mouth, judge justly,
defend the needy and the poor!
IX. Poem on the Woman of Worth[r]
10 Who can find[s] a woman of worth?(F)
Far beyond jewels is her value.
11 Her husband trusts her judgment;
he does not lack income.
12 She brings him profit, not loss,[t]
all the days of her life.
13 She seeks out wool and flax
and weaves with skillful hands.
14 Like a merchant fleet,[u]
she secures her provisions from afar.
15 She rises while it is still night,
and distributes food to her household,
a portion to her maidservants.
16 She picks out a field and acquires it;
from her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength;
she exerts her arms with vigor.[v]
18 She enjoys the profit from her dealings;
her lamp is never extinguished at night.[w]
19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her fingers ply the spindle.[x]
20 She reaches out her hands to the poor,
and extends her arms to the needy.
21 She is not concerned for her household when it snows—
all her charges are doubly clothed.
22 She makes her own coverlets;
fine linen and purple are her clothing.
23 Her husband is prominent at the city gates
as he sits with the elders of the land.[y]
24 She makes garments and sells them,
and stocks the merchants with belts.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity,
and laughs at the days to come.[z]
26 She opens her mouth in wisdom;
kindly instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over[aa] the affairs of her household,
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband, too, praises her:
29 “Many are the women of proven worth,
but you have excelled them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;
the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.[ab]
31 Acclaim her for the work of her hands,
and let her deeds praise her at the city gates.
Chapter 11
Preaching Without Charge.[a] 1 If only you would put up with a little foolishness from me![b] Please put up with me.(A) 2 [c]For I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God, since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.(B) 3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve[d] by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted from a sincere [and pure] commitment to Christ.(C) 4 For if someone comes and preaches another Jesus[e] than the one we preached,(D) or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough. 5 [f](E)For I think that I am not in any way inferior to these “superapostles.” 6 Even if I am untrained in speaking, I am not so in knowledge;(F) in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.[g]
7 [h]Did I make a mistake when I humbled myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge?(G) 8 I plundered other churches by accepting from them in order to minister to you. 9 And when I was with you and in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.(H) 10 By the truth of Christ in me, this boast of mine shall not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.(I) 11 [i]And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!(J)
12 And what I do I will continue to do, in order to end this pretext of those who seek a pretext for being regarded as we are in the mission of which they boast. 13 [j]For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, who masquerade as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light. 15 So it is not strange that his ministers also masquerade as ministers of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.