Old/New Testament
Wise Words from Agur
30 These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh.
This is his message to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 “I am the most stupid person there is.
I have no understanding.
3 I have not learned to be wise.
And I don’t know much about God, the Holy One.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come back down?
Who can hold the wind in his hand?
Who can gather up the waters in his coat?
Who has decided where the ends of the earth will be?
What is his name? And what is his son’s name?
Surely, you know!
5 “Every word of God can be trusted.
He protects those who come to him for safety.
6 Do not add to his words.
If you do, he will correct you and prove that you are a liar.
7 “I ask two things from you, Lord.
Don’t refuse me before I die.
8 Keep me from lying and being dishonest.
And don’t make me either rich or poor.
Just give me enough food for each day.
9 If I have too much, I might reject you.
I might say, ‘I don’t know the Lord.’
If I am poor, I might steal.
Then I would disgrace the name of my God.
10 “Do not say bad things about a servant to his master.
If you do, he will curse you, and you will suffer for it.
11 “Some people curse their fathers.
And they do not bless their mothers.
12 Some people think they are pure.
But they are not really free from evil.
13 Some people have such a proud look!
They look down on others.
14 Some people have teeth like swords.
It is as if their jaws are full of knives.
They want to remove the poor people from the earth.
They want to get rid of the needy.
15 “Greed has two daughters.
Their names are ‘Give me. Give me.’
There are three things that are never satisfied.
There are really four that never say, ‘I’ve had enough!’
16 These things are the cemetery, the childless mother,
the land that never gets enough rain,
and fire that never says, ‘I’ve had enough!’
17 “Don’t make fun of your father.
Don’t refuse to obey your mother.
If you do, your eye will be pecked out by the birds of the valley.
You will be eaten by hawks.
18 “There are three things that are too hard for me.
There are really four that I don’t understand:
19 the way an eagle flies in the sky,
the way a snake slides over a rock,
the way a ship sails on the sea
and the way a man acts with a girl.
20 “This is the way a woman who takes part in adultery acts:
She sins and doesn’t care.
She says, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’
21 “There are three things that make the earth tremble.
There are really four that it cannot stand:
22 a servant who becomes a king,
a foolish person who has plenty to eat,
23 a hateful woman who gets married
and a maid who replaces her mistress.
24 “There are four things on earth that are small.
But they are very wise:
25 Ants are not very strong.
But they store up food in the summer.
26 Rock badgers are not powerful animals.
But they can live among the rocks.
27 Locusts have no king.
But they all go out in formation.
28 And lizards can be caught in the hand.
But they are found even in kings’ palaces.
29 “There are three things that strut proudly.
There are really four that walk as if they are important:
30 Lions are the proudest animals.
They are strong and run from nothing.
31 Roosters and male goats strut proudly.
And so does a king when his army is around him.
32 “You may have been foolish and proud.
If you planned evil, cover your mouth.
33 Stirring milk makes butter.
Twisting noses makes them bleed.
And stirring up anger makes trouble.”
Wise Words of King Lemuel
31 These are the words of King Lemuel. This is the message his mother taught him:
2 “My son, I gave birth to you.
You are the son I prayed for.
3 Don’t waste your strength on women.
Don’t waste your time on those who ruin kings.
4 “Kings should not drink wine, Lemuel.
Rulers should not desire beer.
5 If they drink, they might forget the law.
They might keep the needy from getting their rights.
6 Give beer to people who are dying.
And give wine to those who are sad.
7 Let them drink and forget their need.
Then they won’t remember their misery anymore.
8 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Defend the rights of all those who have nothing.
9 Speak up and judge fairly.
Defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
The Good Wife
10 It is hard to find an excellent wife.
She is worth more than rubies.
11 Her husband trusts her completely.
With her, he has everything he needs.
12 She does him good and not harm
for as long as she lives.
13 She looks for wool and linen.
She likes to work with her hands.
14 She is like a trader’s ship.
She goes far to get food.
15 She gets up while it is still dark.
She prepares food for her family.
She also feeds her servant girls.
16 She looks at a field and buys it.
With money she has earned, she plants a vineyard.
17 She does her work with energy.
Her arms are strong.
18 She makes sure that what she makes is good.
She works by her lamp late into the night.
19 She makes thread with her hands
and weaves her own cloth.
20 She welcomes the poor.
She helps the needy.
21 She does not worry about her family when it snows.
They all have fine clothes to keep them warm.
22 She makes coverings for her bed.
Her clothes are made of linen and other expensive material.
23 Her husband is recognized at the city meetings.
He makes decisions as one of the leaders of the land.
24 She makes linen clothes and sells them.
She provides belts to the merchants.
25 She is strong and is respected by the people.
She looks forward to the future with joy.
26 She speaks wise words.
And she teaches others to be kind.
27 She watches over her family.
And she is always busy.
28 Her children bless her.
Her husband also praises her.
29 He says, “There are many excellent wives,
but you are better than all of them.”
30 Charm can fool you, and beauty can trick you.
But a woman who respects the Lord should be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned.
She should be openly praised for what she has done.
Paul and the False Apostles
11 I wish you would be patient with me even when I am a little foolish. But you are already doing that. 2 I am jealous over you. And this jealousy comes from God. I promised to give you to Christ. He must be your only husband. I want to give you to Christ to be his pure bride. 3 But I am afraid that your minds will be led away from your true and pure following of Christ. This might happen just as Eve was tricked by the snake with his evil ways. 4 You are very patient with anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus than the one we preached. You are very willing to accept a spirit or Good News that is different from the Spirit and Good News that you received from us.
5 I do not think that those “great apostles” are any better than I am. 6 I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have shown this to you clearly in every way.
7 I preached God’s Good News to you without pay. I made myself unimportant to make you important. Do you think that was wrong? 8 I accepted pay from other churches. I took their money so that I could serve you. 9 If I needed something when I was with you, I did not trouble any of you. The brothers who came from Macedonia gave me all that I needed. I did not allow myself to depend on you in any way. And I will never depend on you. 10 No one in Southern Greece will stop me from bragging about that. I say this with the truth of Christ in me. 11 And why do I not depend on you? Do you think it is because I do not love you? No. God knows that I love you.
12 And I will keep on doing what I am doing now. I will continue because I want to stop those people from having a reason to brag. They would like to say that the work they brag about is the same as ours. 13 Such men are not true apostles. They are workers who lie. And they change themselves to look like apostles of Christ. 14 This does not surprise us. Even Satan changes himself to look like an angel of light.[a] 15 So it does not surprise us if Satan’s servants also make themselves look like servants who work for what is right. But in the end they will be punished for the things they do.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.