Proverbs 30
30
Wise Words from Agur
1These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh.
This is his message to Ithiel and Ucal:
2“I am the most stupid person there is,
and I have no understanding.
3I have not learned to be wise,
and I don’t know much about God, the Holy One.
4Who has gone up to heaven and come back down?
Who can hold the wind in his hand?
Who can gather up the waters in his coat?
Who has set in place the ends of the earth?
What is his name or his son’s name?
Tell me, if you know!
5“Every word of God is true.
He guards those who come to him for safety.
6Do not add to his words,
or he will correct you and prove you are a liar.
7“I ask two things from you, Lord.
Don’t refuse me before I die.
8Keep me from lying and being dishonest.
And don’t make me either rich or poor;
just give me enough food for each day.
9If I have too much, I might reject you
and say, ‘I don’t know the Lord.’
If I am poor, I might steal
and disgrace the name of my God.
10“Do not say bad things about servants to their masters,
or they will curse you, and you will suffer for it.
11“Some people curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12Some people think they are pure,
but they are not really free from evil.
13Some people have such a proud look!
They look down on others.
14Some people have teeth like swords;
their jaws seem full of knives.
They want to remove the poor from the earth
and the needy from the land.
15“Greed has two daughters
named ‘Give’ and ‘Give.’
There are three things that are never satisfied,
really four that never say, ‘I’ve had enough!’:
16the cemetery, the childless mother,
the land that never gets enough rain,
and fire that never says, ‘I’ve had enough!’
17“If you make fun of your father
and refuse to obey your mother,
the birds of the valley will peck out your eyes,
and the vultures will eat them.
18“There are three things that are too hard for me,
really four I don’t understand:
19the way an eagle flies in the sky,
the way a snake slides over a rock,
the way a ship sails on the sea,
and the way a man and a woman fall in love.
20“This is the way of a woman who takes part in adultery:
She acts as if she had eaten and washed her face;
she says, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’
21“There are three things that make the earth tremble,
really four it cannot stand:
22a servant who becomes a king,
a foolish person who has plenty to eat,
23a hated woman who gets married,
and a maid who replaces her mistress.
24“There are four things on earth that are small,
but they are very wise:
25Ants are not very strong,
but they store up food in the summer.
26Rock badgers are not very powerful,
but they can live among the rocks.
27Locusts have no king,
but they all go forward in formation.
28Lizards can be caught in the hand,
but they are found even in kings’ palaces.
29“There are three things that strut proudly,
really four that walk as if they were important:
30a lion, the proudest animal,
which is strong and runs from nothing,
31a rooster, a male goat,
and a king when his army is around him.
32“If you have been foolish and proud,
or if you have planned evil, shut your mouth.
33Just as stirring milk makes butter,
and twisting noses makes them bleed,
so stirring up anger causes trouble.”
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Proverbs 30: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 30
30
The Observations of Agur
1The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy.
The man spake unto Ith´i-el,
even unto Ith´i-el and Ucal,
2Surely I am more brutish than any man,
and have not the understanding of a man.
3I neither learned wisdom,
nor have the knowledge of the holy.
4Who 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?
5Every word of God is pure:
he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
6Add thou not unto his words,
lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
7Two things have I required of thee;
deny me them not before I die:
8remove far from me vanity and lies;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with food convenient for me:
9lest 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.
10Accuse not a servant unto his master,
lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
11 There is a generation that curseth their father,
and doth not bless their mother.
12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes,
and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
13 There is a generation, O 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.
15The horseleech hath two daughters, crying, Give, give.
There are three things that are never satisfied,
yea, four things say not, It is enough:
16the grave; and the barren womb;
the earth that is not filled with water;
and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
17The 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.
18There be three things which are too wonderful for me,
yea, four which I know not:
19the 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.
20Such is the way of an adulterous woman;
she eateth, and wipeth her mouth,
and saith, I have done no wickedness.
21For three things the earth is disquieted,
and for four which it cannot bear:
22for a servant when he reigneth;
and a fool when he is filled with meat;
23for an odious woman when she is married;
and a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
24There be four things which are little upon the earth,
but they are exceeding wise:
25the ants are a people not strong,
yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
26the conies are but a feeble folk,
yet make they their houses in the rocks;
27the locusts have no king,
yet go they forth all of them by bands;
28the spider taketh hold with her hands,
and is in kings' palaces.
29There be three things which go well,
yea, four are comely in going:
30a lion, which is strongest among beasts,
and turneth not away for any;
31a greyhound; a he goat also;
and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
32If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself,
or if thou hast thought evil,
lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
33Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter,
and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood:
so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.