[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. 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.