Every Word of God Is Tested

1The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the [†]oracle.

The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:

2Surely I am more senseless than any man,

And I do not have the understanding of mankind.

3Neither have I learned wisdom,

Nor do I know the knowledge of the Holy One.

4Who has ascended into heaven and descended?

Who has gathered the wind in His fists?

Who has wrapped the waters in [†]His garment?

Who has [†]established all the ends of the earth?

What is His name? And what is His Son’s name?

Surely you know!

5Every word of God is [†]tested;

He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

6Do not add to His words

Lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar.

7Two things I asked of You,

Do not withhold from me before I die:

8Keep worthlessness and every false word far from me,

Give me neither poverty nor riches;

Feed me with the food that is my portion,

9Lest I be full and deny You and say, “Who is Yahweh?”

Or lest I be impoverished and steal,

And [†]profane the name of my God.

10Do not slander a slave to his master,

Lest he curse you and you be found guilty.

11There is a generation that curses its father

And does not bless its mother.

12There is a generation that is clean in its own eyes,

Yet is not washed from its filthiness.

13There is a generation—oh how haughty are its eyes!

And its eyelids are lifted up.

14There is a generation whose teeth are like swords

And its fangs like knives,

To devour the afflicted from the earth

And the needy from among men.

15The leech has two daughters,

“Give,” “Give.”

There are three things that will not be satisfied,

Four that will not say, “Enough”:

16Sheol, and the barren womb,

Earth that is never satisfied with water,

And fire that never says, “Enough.”

17The eye that mocks a father

And despises obedience to a mother,

The ravens of the valley will pick it out,

And the young eagles will eat it.

18There are three things which are too wonderful for me,

Four which I do not understand:

19The way of an eagle in the sky,

The way of a serpent on a rock,

The way of a ship in the heart of the sea,

And the way of a man with a virgin.

20This is the way of an adulterous woman:

She eats and wipes her mouth,

And says, “I have done no wrong.”

21Under three things the earth quakes,

And under four, it cannot bear up:

22Under a slave when he becomes king,

And a wicked fool when he is satisfied with food,

23Under [†]an unloved woman when she gets a husband,

And a servant-girl when she supplants her mistress.

24Four things are small on the earth,

But they are exceedingly wise:

25The ants are not a strong people,

But they prepare their food in the summer;

26The [†]shephanim are not a mighty people,

Yet they make their houses in the cliff;

27The locusts have no king,

Yet all of them go out in rank;

28The lizard you may grasp with the hands,

Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

29There are three things which are stately in their march,

Even four which are stately when they walk:

30The lion which is mighty among the animals

And does not turn back before any,

31The [†]strutting rooster, the male goat also,

And a king when his army is with him.

32If you have been wickedly foolish in lifting yourself up,

Or if you have schemed evil, put your hand on your mouth.

33For pressing milk brings forth butter,

And pressing the nose brings forth blood;

And pressing anger brings forth strife.