12There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes,
         Yet is not washed from his filthiness.

13There is a kind—oh how lofty are his eyes!
         And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.

14There is a kind of man whose teeth are like swords
         And his jaw teeth 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 scorns 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 middle of the sea,
         And the way of a man with a maid.

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 fool when he is satisfied with food,

23Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
         And a maidservant 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 mighty people,
         Yet they make their houses in the rocks;

27The locusts have no king,
         Yet all of them go out in ranks;

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 beasts
         And does not retreat before any,

31The strutting rooster, the male goat also,
         And a king when his army is with him.

32If you have been foolish in exalting yourself
         Or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth.

33For the churning of milk produces butter,
         And pressing the nose brings forth blood;
         So the churning of anger produces strife.

NASB ©1995