| 1 | The words of Agur son of Jakeh. An oracle. Thus says the man: I am weary, O God, I am weary, O God. How can I prevail? |
| 2 | Surely I am too stupid to be human; I do not have human understanding. |
| 3 | I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the holy ones. |
| 4 | Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of the hand? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is the person’s name? And what is the name of the person’s child? Surely you know! |
| 5 | Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. |
| 6 | Do not add to his words, or else he will rebuke you, and you will be found a liar. |
| 7 | Two things I ask of you; do not deny them to me before I die: |
| 8 | Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need, |
| 9 | or I shall be full, and deny you, and say, “Who is the LORD?” or I shall be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God. |
| 10 | Do not slander a servant to a master, or the servant will curse you, and you will be held guilty. |
| 11 | There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers. |
| 12 | There are those who are pure in their own eyes yet are not cleansed of their filthiness. |
| 13 | There are those — how lofty are their eyes, how high their eyelids lift! — |
| 14 | there are those whose teeth are swords, whose teeth are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mortals. |
| 15 | The leech has two daughters; “Give, give,” they cry. Three things are never satisfied; four never say, “Enough”: |
| 16 | Sheol, the barren womb, the earth ever thirsty for water, and the fire that never says, “Enough.” |
| 17 | The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures. |
| 18 | Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: |
| 19 | the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a girl. |
| 20 | This is the way of an adulteress: she eats, and wipes her mouth, and says, “I have done no wrong.” |
| 21 | Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot bear up: |
| 22 | a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when glutted with food; |
| 23 | an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maid when she succeeds her mistress. |
| 24 | Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise: |
| 25 | the ants are a people without strength, yet they provide their food in the summer; |
| 26 | the badgers are a people without power, yet they make their homes in the rocks; |
| 27 | the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank; |
| 28 | the lizard can be grasped in the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces. |
| 29 | Three things are stately in their stride; four are stately in their gait: |
| 30 | the lion, which is mightiest among wild animals and does not turn back before any; |
| 31 | the strutting rooster, the he-goat, and a king striding before his people. |
| 32 | If you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or if you have been devising evil, put your hand on your mouth. |
| 33 | For as pressing milk produces curds, and pressing the nose produces blood, so pressing anger produces strife. |