Pro 30 | NASB1995 | STEP | The words of Agur the son of Jakeh , the oracle . The man declares to Ithiel , to Ithiel and Ucal :

Proverbs 30

The Words of Agur

1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the ^{▼▼ Or burden}oracle.

The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal: 2 Surely I am more ^bstupid than any man,
And I do not have the understanding of a man.
3 Neither have I learned wisdom,
Nor do I have the ^cknowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has ^dascended into heaven and descended?
Who has gathered the ^ewind in His fists?
Who has ^fwrapped the waters in ^{▼▼ Lit the}His garment?
Who has ^hestablished all the ends of the earth?
What is His ⁱname or His son’s name?
Surely you know!

5 Every ^jword of God is tested;
He is a ^kshield to those who take refuge in Him.
6 ^lDo not add to His words
Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.

7 Two things I asked of You,
Do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep deception and ^{▼▼ Lit words of falsehood}lies far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the ⁿfood that is my portion,
9 That I not be ^ofull and deny ^p You and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or that I not be ^qin want and steal,
And ^rprofane the name of my God.

10 Do not slander a slave to his master,
Or he will ^scurse you and you will be found guilty.

11 There is a ^{▼▼ Or generation}kind of man who ^ucurses his father
And does not bless his mother.
12 There is a ^{▼▼ Or generation}kind who is ^wpure in his own eyes,
Yet is not washed from his filthiness.
13 There is a ^{▼▼ Or generation}kind— oh how ^ylofty are his eyes!
And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.
14 There is a ^{▼▼ Or generation}kind of man whose ^aateeth are like swords
And his ^abjaw teeth like knives,
To ^acdevour the afflicted from the earth
And the needy from among men.

15 The leech has two daughters,
“Give,” “Give.”
There are three things that will not be satisfied,
Four that will not say, “Enough”:
16 ^{▼▼ I.e. The nether world
,} ^aeSheol, and the ^afbarren womb,
Earth that is never satisfied with water,
And fire that never says, “Enough.”
17 The eye that ^agmocks a father
And ^{▼▼ Lit despises to obey
,} ^aiscorns a mother,
The ^ajravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young ^akeagles will eat it.

18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Four which I do not understand:
19 The way of an ^aleagle in the sky,
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a ship in the middle of the sea,
And the way of a man with a maid.
20 This is the way of an ^amadulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wrong.”

21 Under three things the earth quakes,
And under four, it cannot bear up:
22 Under a ^anslave when he becomes king,
And a fool when he is satisfied with food,
23 Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
And a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.

24 Four things are small on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
25 The ^aoants are not a strong people,
But they prepare their food in the summer;
26 The ^{▼▼ Small, shy, furry animals (Hyrax syriacus) found in the peninsula of the Sinai, northern Israel, and the region round the Dead Sea; KJV coney, orig NASB badgers
,} ^aqshephanim are not mighty people,
Yet they make their houses in the rocks;
27 The locusts have no king,
Yet all of them go out in ^arranks;
28 The lizard you may grasp with the hands,
Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

29 There are three things which are stately in their march,
Even four which are stately when they walk:
30 The lion which is ^asmighty among beasts
And does not ^{▼▼ Lit turn back
,} ^auretreat before any,
31 The ^{▼▼ Lit girt in the loins}strutting rooster, the male goat also,
And a king when his army is with him.

32 If you have been foolish in exalting yourself
Or if you have plotted evil, ^aw put your hand on your mouth.
33 For the ^{▼▼ Lit pressing}churning of milk produces butter,
And pressing the nose brings forth blood;
So the ^{▼▼ Lit pressing}churning of ^azanger produces strife.