[Image: Introduction to Proverbs]
PROVERBS 30
The Words of Agur
[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. (ESV)
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