Proverbs
Chapter 30
1 Agur, Jakeh’s son, said this prophecy: he told Ithiel, and also Ithiel and Ucal.
2 I am surely less wise than anyone, and I lack a man’s understanding.
3 I have not learned wisdom, nor do I know about the holy.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has held the wind in his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has set up all the earth’s edges? What’s his name, and what’s his son’s name, if you know it?
5 Every word from God is pure; he protects those who trust in him.
6 Do not add to his words, or God will correct you, and you will be shown to be a liar.
7 I ask you for two things; don’t refuse me before I die.
8 Keep me away from useless things and dishonesty; don’t make me poor or rich; give me just the food I need.
9 So I don’t become too full, forget you, and ask, “Who is God?” or become poor, steal, and disrespect my God’s name.
10 Do not blame someone’s servant to their boss, or they might curse you and you’ll be found at fault.
11 A generation curses their father and doesn’t bless their mother.
12 Some people think they are clean, but they are not free from their dirt.
13 A group of people exist who are very proud; they look at others with arrogance.
14 Some people are like sword teeth and knife jaws, they eat up the poor and needy from the world and among people.
15 The leech has two daughters that cry, “Give, give.” There are three things never full, even four that never say, “Enough”:
16 The grave, the empty womb, the dry earth, and the fire that never says ‘Enough.’
17 The eye that makes fun of its father, and hates to listen to its mother, the ravens of the valley will pluck it out, and young eagles will eat it.
18 There are three things that are amazing to me, yes, four things I don’t understand:
19 How an eagle flies in the sky; how a snake moves on a rock; how a ship sails in the sea; and how a man acts with a woman.
20 This is how an unfaithful woman acts: she eats, cleans her mouth, and says, I’ve done nothing wrong.
21 The earth is troubled by three things, and there are four it can’t stand:
22 When a servant becomes a leader and a fool gets plenty to eat.
23 A disliked woman when she gets married; and a servant girl who inherits from her lady.
24 There are four small things on earth, but they are very wise:
25 Ants are not strong, yet they gather their food in the summer.
26 The rock badgers are weak creatures, yet they make their homes in the rocks.
27 The locusts don’t have a king, but they all go out in groups.
28 The spider uses its hands to make a web and lives in king’s homes.
29 Three things move gracefully, indeed, four look good as they go:
30 A lion, the strongest among animals, doesn’t turn away from anything.
31 A greyhound; a male goat also; and a king, who cannot be opposed.
32 If you acted foolishly by being proud, or if you planned something bad, put your hand over your mouth.
33 When you stir milk, you make butter, and when you squeeze a nose, you get blood; so when you force anger, you cause fighting.