7. ‘Two things I ask of you, Lord;do not refuse me before I die:
8. keep falsehood and lies far from me;give me neither poverty nor riches,but give me only my daily bread.
9. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown youand say, “Who is the Lord?”Or I may become poor and steal,and so dishonour the name of my God.
10. ‘Do not slander a servant to their master,or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.
11. ‘There are those who curse their fathersand do not bless their mothers;
12. those who are pure in their own eyesand yet are not cleansed of their filth;
13. those whose eyes are ever so haughty,whose glances are so disdainful;
14. those whose teeth are swordsand whose jaws are set with knivesto devour the poor from the earthand the needy from among the human race.
15. ‘The leech has two daughters.“Give! Give!” they cry.‘There are three things that are never satisfied,four that never say, “Enough!”:
16. the grave, the barren womb,land, which is never satisfied with water,and fire, which never says, “Enough!”
17. ‘The eye that mocks a father,that scorns an aged mother,will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,will be eaten by the vultures.
18. ‘There are three things that are too amazing for me,four that I do not understand:
19. the way of an eagle in the sky,the way of a snake on a rock,the way of a ship on the high seas,and the way of a man with a young woman.