The Words of Agur

1The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh; an oracle:

This man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ukal:

2Surely I am more brutish than any other human being,

and I do not have human understanding;

3I have not learned wisdom,

nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One.

4Who has ascended into heaven, and then descended?

Who has gathered up the winds in his fists?

Who has bound up the waters in his cloak?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is his name, and what is his son’s name? – if you know!

5Every word of God is purified;

he is like a shield for those who take refuge in him.

6Do not add to his words,

lest he reprove you, and prove you to be a liar.

7Two things I ask from you;

do not refuse me before I die:

8Remove falsehood and lies far from me;

do not give me poverty or riches,

feed me with my allotted portion of bread,

9lest I become satisfied and act deceptively

and say, “Who is the Lord?”

Or lest I become poor and steal

and demean the name of my God.

10Do not slander a servant to his master,

lest he curse you, and you are found guilty.

11There is a generation who curse their fathers

and do not bless their mothers.

12There is a generation who are pure in their own eyes

and yet are not washed from their filthiness.

13There is a generation whose eyes are so lofty,

and whose eyelids are lifted up disdainfully.

14There is a generation whose teeth are like swords

and whose molars are like knives

to devour the poor from the earth

and the needy from among the human race.

15The leech has two daughters:

“Give! Give!”

There are three things that are never satisfied,

four that never say, “Enough” –

16the grave, the barren womb,

land that is not satisfied with water,

and fire that never says, “Enough!”

17The eye that mocks at a father

and despises obeying a mother –

the ravens of the valley will peck it out

and the young vultures will eat it.

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

four that I do not understand:

19the way of an eagle in the sky,

the way of a snake on a rock,

the way of a ship in the sea,

and the way of a man with a woman.

20This is the way of an adulterous woman:

she eats and wipes her mouth

and says, “I have not done wrong.”

21Under three things the earth trembles,

and under four things it cannot bear up:

22under a servant who becomes king,

under a fool who is stuffed with food,

23under an unloved woman who is married,

and under a female servant who dispossesses her mistress.

24There are four things on earth that are small,

but they are exceedingly wise:

25ants are creatures with little strength,

but they prepare their food in the summer;

26rock badgers are creatures with little power,

but they make their homes in the crags;

27locusts have no king,

but they all go forward by ranks;

28a lizard you can catch with the hand,

but it gets into the palaces of the king.

29There are three things that are magnificent in their step,

four things that move about magnificently:

30a lion, mightiest of the beasts,

who does not retreat from anything;

31a strutting rooster, a male goat,

and a king with his army around him.

32If you have done foolishly by exalting yourself

or if you have planned evil,

put your hand over your mouth!

33For as the churning of milk produces butter

and as punching the nose produces blood,

so stirring up anger produces strife.