1. The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle. The man declares to Ithiel,to Ithiel and Ukal:
2. Surely I am more brutish than any man,and have not the understanding of a man.
3. I neither learned wisdom,nor have the knowledge of the holy.
4. Who has ascended up into heaven, or descended?Who has gathered the wind in his fists?Who has bound the waters in a garment?Who has established all the ends of the earth?What is His name, and what is the name of His son,if you know?
5. Every word of God is pure;He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6. Do not add to His words,lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.
7. Two things I have required of you;do not deny me them before I die:
8. Remove vanity and lies far from me—give me neither poverty nor riches;feed me with food convenient for me;
9. lest I be full, and deny You,and say, “Who is the Lord?”or lest I be poor, and steal,and take the name of my God in vain.
10. Do not accuse a servant to his master,lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.
11. There is a generation that curses their father,and does not bless its mother.
12. There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,and yet is not washed from its filthiness.
13. There is a generation—oh, how lofty are their eyes!And their eyelids are lifted up.
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.
15. The leech has two daughters,crying, “Give, give.” There are three things that are never satisfied,indeed, four things never say, “It is enough”:
16. the grave, the barren womb,the earth that is not filled with water,and the fire that never says, “It is enough.”
17. The eye that mocks at his father,and despises to obey his mother,the ravens of the valley will pick it out,and the young eagles will eat it.
18. There are three things which are too wonderful for me,indeed, four which I do not know:
19. the way of an eagle in the air,the way of a serpent on a rock,the way of a ship in the midst of the sea,and the way of a man with a maid.
20. Such is the way of an adulterous woman;she eats and wipes her mouth,and says, “I have done no wickedness.”
21. For three things the earth is disquieted,and for four which it cannot bear:
22. for a servant when he reigns,and a fool when he is filled with food,
23. for a hateful woman when she is married,and a handmaid who is heir to her mistress.
24. There are four things which are little upon the earth,but they are exceeding wise:
25. The ants are a people not strong,yet they prepare their food in the summer;
26. the badgers are but a feeble folk,yet they make their houses in the rocks;
27. the locusts have no king,yet they go forth all of them by bands;
28. the spider takes hold with her hands,and is in kings’ palaces.
29. There are three things which go well,indeed, four are comely in going:
30. a lion which is strongest among beasts,and does not turn away for any;
31. a strutting rooster, a male goat also,and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
32. If you have been foolish in lifting up yourself,or if you have thought evil,put your hand on your mouth.
33. Surely the churning of milk brings forth butter,and the wringing of the nose brings forth blood,so the forcing of wrath brings forth strife.