Proverbs, 30

1. The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, [even] the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,

1. The sayings of Agur, Son of Jakeh, of Massa.

2. Surely I [am] more brutish than [any] man, and have not the understanding of a man.

2. He says, "My God, my God, I am worn-out and weary. Too stupid to be human, I am devoid of intelligence;

3. I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.

3. I have not acquired wisdom or grasped the knowledge of the Holy One."

4. Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what [is] his name, and what [is] his son's name, if thou canst tell?

4. Who has ascended the heavens and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his hands? Who has encircled the waters with his cloak? Who has established the limits of the earth? What is his name or the name of his son?

5. Every word of God [is] pure: he [is] a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

5. Every word of God is true, he is a shield in whom man can find refuge.

6. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

6. Add nothing to his words lest he rebuke you and take you for a liar.

7. Two [things] have I required of thee; deny me [them] not before I die:

7. O God, two things I beg of you, do not deny me them before I die.

8. Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:

8. Keep lying and falsehood far away from me, give me neither poverty nor riches. Give me just as much food as I need lest,

9. Lest I be full, and deny [thee], and say, Who [is] the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God [in vain].

9. satisfied, I deny you and say, "Who is Yahweh?" Or else, out of necessity, I steal and profane the name of my God.

10. Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.

10. Do not accuse a slave to his master's face lest he curse you and you have to pay.

11. [There is] a generation [that] curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.

11. What a people are those who curse their father and do not bless their mother,

12. [There is] a generation [that are] pure in their own eyes, and [yet] is not washed from their filthiness.

12. who consider themselves pure but their sins have not been cleansed!

13. [There is] a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.

13. They have a haughty look and disdainful eye;

14. [There is] a generation, whose teeth [are as] swords, and their jaw teeth [as] knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from [among] men.

14. their teeth are like daggers and their fangs, like blades to devour the weak of the land and the poor of the people.

15. The horseleach hath two daughters, [crying], Give, give. There are three [things that] are never satisfied, [yea], four [things] say not, [It is] enough:

15. The leech has two daughters, "Give me!" and "Give me!"

16. The grave; and the barren womb; the earth [that] is not filled with water; and the fire [that] saith not, [It is] enough.

16. There are three insatiable things and four which never say, "Enough": the grave, the sterile womb, the earth longing for water and the fire which never cries, "Enough."

17. The eye [that] mocketh at [his] father, and despiseth to obey [his] mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

17. The eye which challenges a father and despises his aging mother, will be gouged out by the ravens of the valley and devoured by the eagles.

18. There be three [things which] are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:

18. There are three things which I cannot comprehend and four which I do not understand:

19. The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

19. the way of the eagle through the sky, the way of the snake on the rock, the way of the ship on high seas and the way of the human being within the mother.

20. Such [is] the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

20. What can I say of the adulterous woman? She eats, and having wiped her mouth, she says, "I have done nothing wrong."

21. For three [things] the earth is disquieted, and for four [which] it cannot bear:

21. Three things make the earth tremble; there are four which it cannot withstand:

22. For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;

22. the slave who becomes king, the fool stuffed with bread,

23. For an odious [woman] when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

23. the unbearable woman who marries and the maid who inherits from her mistress.

24. There be four [things which are] little upon the earth, but they [are] exceeding wise:

24. There are four tiny creatures on the earth that are among the wisest of the wise:

25. The ants [are] a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

25. the ants that are without strength, but in summer make sure of their supplies;

26. The conies [are but] a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;

26. the rock-rabbits that are without vigor, but make their home in the rocks;

27. The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

27. the locusts that have no king, but move forward in organized groups;

28. The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.

28. the lizard which can be caught by hand, but lives in the palaces of kings.

29. There be three [things] which go well, yea, four are comely in going:

29. Three things have a stately step and four have a noble bearing:

30. A lion [which is] strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;

30. the lion, the bravest of animals, that retreats before nothing;

31. A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom [there is] no rising up.

31. the cock that struts proudly among the hens; the he-goat that leads his flock, and the king at the head of his army.

32. If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, [lay] thine hand upon thy mouth.

32. If you have been foolish enough to get angry and afterwards regret it, cover your mouth with your hand.

33. Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

33. Since by churning the milk butter is produced, by squeezing the nose blood flows, and by stirring up anger arguments arise.