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.
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 decided where the ends of the earth will be?
What is his name? And what is his son’s name?
Surely, you know!
5“Every word of God can be trusted.
He protects those who come to him for safety.
6Do not add to his words.
If you do, he will correct you and prove that 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.
I might say, ‘I don’t know the Lord.’
If I am poor, I might steal.
Then I would disgrace the name of my God.
10“Do not say bad things about a servant to his master.
If you do, he will curse you, and you will suffer for it.
11“Some people curse their fathers.
And they 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.
It is as if their jaws are full of knives.
They want to remove the poor people from the earth.
They want to get rid of the needy.
15“Greed has two daughters.
Their names are ‘Give me. Give me.’
There are three things that are never satisfied.
There are really four that never say, ‘I’ve had enough!’
16These things are the cemetery, the childless mother,
the land that never gets enough rain,
and fire that never says, ‘I’ve had enough!’
17“Don’t make fun of your father.
Don’t refuse to obey your mother.
If you do, your eye will be pecked out by the birds of the valley.
You will be eaten by hawks.
18“There are three things that are too hard for me.
There are really four that 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 acts with a girl.
20“This is the way a woman who takes part in adultery acts:
She sins and doesn’t care.
She says, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’
21“There are three things that make the earth tremble.
There are really four that it cannot stand:
22a servant who becomes a king,
a foolish person who has plenty to eat,
23a hateful 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 powerful animals.
But they can live among the rocks.
27Locusts have no king.
But they all go out in formation.
28And lizards can be caught in the hand.
But they are found even in kings’ palaces.
29“There are three things that strut proudly.
There are really four that walk as if they are important:
30Lions are the proudest animals.
They are strong and run from nothing.
31Roosters and male goats strut proudly.
And so does a king when his army is around him.
32“You may have been foolish and proud.
If you planned evil, cover your mouth.
33Stirring milk makes butter.
Twisting noses makes them bleed.
And stirring up anger makes trouble.”
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Proverbs 30: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Proverbs 30
30
1The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; the oracle.
The man saith unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
2Surely I am more brutish than any man,
And have not the understanding of a man:
3And I have not learned wisdom,
Neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One.
4Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended?
Who hath gathered the wind in his fists?
Who hath bound the waters in his garment?
Who hath established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou knowest?
5Every word of God is tried:
He is a shield unto them that trust in him.
6Add thou not unto his words,
Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
7Two things have I asked 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 the food that is needful for me:
9Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD?
Or lest I be poor, and steal,
And use profanely the name of my God.
10Slander not a servant unto his master,
Lest he curse thee, and thou be held guilty.
11There is a generation that curseth their father,
And doth not bless their mother.
12There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes;
And yet are not washed from their filthiness.
13There is a generation, Oh how lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids are lifted up.
14There 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 horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give
There are three things that are never satisfied,
Yea, four that say not, Enough:
16The grave; and the barren womb;
The earth that is not satisfied with water;
And the fire that saith not, 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.
20So 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 doth tremble,
And for four, which it cannot bear:
22For a servant when he is king;
And a fool when he is filled with meat;
23For an odious woman when she is married;
And an 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 provide 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 lizard taketh hold with her hands,
Yet is she in kings' palaces,
29There be three things which are stately in their march,
Yea, four which are stately in going:
30The lion, which is mightiest among beasts,
And turneth not away for any;
31The greyhound; the he-goat also;
And the 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.
33For 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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historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society