Proverbs 30

30 ¹The words of Agur son of Jakeh—the oracle. The man declares: I am weary, O my Father; I am weary, O my Father, and worn out. ²Surely I am too brutish to be a man; I do not have the understanding of a man. ³I have not learned wisdom, nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One. ⁴Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name? Surely you know! ^a a v4 Agur asks who has done these things and what his son's name is. Jesus answered the riddle: "No one has ascended into heaven except the one who came down from heaven — the Son of Man" (John 3:13). The Father has a Son. ⁵Every word of our Father proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. ⁶Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. ⁷Two things I ask of you; do not withhold them from me before I die: ⁸Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me only the bread that is my portion, ⁹for if I am full, I may deny you and say, "Who is God?" or if I am poor, I may steal and profane the name of my God. ¹⁰Do not slander a servant to his master, or he will curse you and you will be found guilty. ¹¹There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother. ¹²There is a generation clean in its own eyes yet not washed of its filth. ¹³There is a generation—how proud its eyes, how scornful its glances! ¹⁴There is a generation whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among mankind. ¹⁵The leech has two daughters: "Give" and "Give." Three things are never satisfied; four never say, "Enough": ¹⁶The grave, the barren womb, the land never satisfied with water, and the fire that never says, "Enough." ¹⁷The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother—the ravens of the valley will pluck it out, and the young vultures will eat it. ¹⁸Three things are too wonderful for me; four 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 young woman. ²⁰This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, "I have done no wrong." ²¹Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot bear up: ²²a servant when he becomes king, and a fool when he is filled with food; ²³an unloved woman when she finally marries, and a servant girl when she displaces her mistress. ²⁴Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise: ²⁵the ants are a people not strong, yet they store up their food in the summer; ²⁶the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs; ²⁷the locusts have no king, yet all of them advance in ranks; ²⁸the lizard you can catch in your hands, yet it is found in kings' palaces. ²⁹Three things are stately in their stride; four are stately in their walk: ³⁰the lion, mightiest among beasts, which turns back before nothing; ³¹the strutting rooster, the male goat, and a king whose army is with him. ³²If you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or if you have schemed evil, put your hand over your mouth. ³³For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood, and pressing anger produces strife.