Proverbs - Chapter 30 | English Standard Version

  • 1. The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. The man declares, I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out.
  • 2. Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man.
  • 3. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
  • 4. Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name? Surely you know!
  • 5. Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
  • 6. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
  • 7. Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die:
  • 8. Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,
  • 9. lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the LORD?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
  • 10. Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you and you be held guilty.
  • 11. There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
  • 12. There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth.
  • 13. There are those--how lofty are their eyes, how high their eyelids lift!
  • 14. There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind.
  • 15. The leech has two daughters; "Give" and "Give," they cry. Three things are never satisfied; four never say, "Enough":
  • 16. Sheol, the barren womb, the land never satisfied with water, and the fire that never says, "Enough."
  • 17. The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.
  • 18. Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand:
  • 19. the 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.
  • 20. This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, "I have done no wrong."
  • 21. Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot bear up:
  • 22. a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is filled with food;
  • 23. an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
  • 24. Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise:
  • 25. the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer;
  • 26. the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
  • 27. the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank;
  • 28. the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings' palaces.
  • 29. Three things are stately in their tread; four are stately in their stride:
  • 30. the lion, which is mightiest among beasts and does not turn back before any;
  • 31. the strutting rooster, the he-goat, and a king whose army is with him.
  • 32. If you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or if you have been devising evil, put your hand on your mouth.
  • 33. For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood, and pressing anger produces strife.
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