| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1A discourse by the faithful collector. This is what this valiant man declared to the God with me, to the God with me, who then prevailed: | 1The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh; an oracle: This man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ukal: |
| 2Surely I am beyond the senselessness of any man; I do not perceive things the way human beings do. | 2Surely I am more brutish than any other human being, and I do not have human understanding; |
| 3I never acquired wisdom, but I know what the Holy One knows. | 3I have not learned wisdom, nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One. |
| 4Who has ascended to heaven, and then descended? Who has collected the wind in his hands? Who has wrapped up waters in a garment? Who has established all the farthest points of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name? Surely you know! | 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! |
| 5Everything God says is pure; he is a shield for those who take refuge in him. | 5Every word of God is purified; he is like a shield for those who take refuge in him. |
| 6Don't add to his words, or he will rebuke you, and you will be shown to be a liar. | 6Do not add to his words, lest he reprove you, and prove you to be a liar. |
| 7God, I have asked you for two things— don't refuse me before I die— | 7Two things I ask from you; do not refuse me before I die: |
| 8Keep deception and lies far away from me, and give me neither poverty nor wealth. Feed me with food that I need for today, | 8Remove falsehood and lies far from me; do not give me poverty or riches, feed me with my allotted portion of bread, |
| 9so that I don't become overfed and deny you by saying, "Who is the LORD?" or so that I don't become poor and steal, and then misuse the name of my God. | 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. |
| 10Don't lie about a servant to his master, or that servant will curse you and you will pay for it. | 10Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you are found guilty. |
| 11Some people curse their fathers and won't bless their mothers. | 11There is a generation who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers. |
| 12Some people view themselves as pure, but haven't been cleansed from their own filth. | 12There is a generation who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not washed from their filthiness. |
| 13Some people —what an arrogant look they have!— raise their eyebrows haughtily. | 13There is a generation whose eyes are so lofty, and whose eyelids are lifted up disdainfully. |
| 14Some people have swords for teeth and knives for fangs to devour the afflicted from the earth and the needy from among mankind. | 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" and "Give". Three things will never be satisfied; four will never say "Enough"— | 15The leech has two daughters: "Give! Give!" There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, "Enough"-- |
| 16The afterlife, the barren womb, earth that still demands water, and fire—they 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 a father and looks with a disobedient attitude at a mother— the valley ravens will pluck it out; and vultures will eat it. | 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. |
| 18Three things cause wonder for me; four are beyond my understanding: | 18There are three things that are too wonderful for me, four that I do not understand: |
| 19The way an eagle flies in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a young woman. | 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 what an immoral woman is like: she eats, wipes her mouth, then says "I've done nothing wrong." | 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, under four it cannot remain steady: | 21Under three things the earth trembles, and under four things it cannot bear up: |
| 22Under a slave when he becomes a king, a fool when he is overfed, | 22under a servant who becomes king, under a fool who is stuffed with food, |
| 23an unloved woman when she finds a husband, and a servant girl who inherits from her mistress. | 23under an unloved woman who is married, and under a female servant who dispossesses her mistress. |
| 24Four things on earth are small, but they are very, very wise: | 24There are four things on earth that are small, but they are exceedingly wise: |
| 25Ants aren't a strong species, yet they prepare their food in the summer. | 25ants are creatures with little strength, but they prepare their food in the summer; |
| 26The rock badgers aren't a strong species either, yet they build their dens in the rocks. | 26rock badgers are creatures with little power, but they make their homes in the crags; |
| 27Locusts have no king, but they all swarm in ranks. | 27locusts have no king, but they all go forward by ranks; |
| 28Spiders can be caught by the hand, yet they're found in kings' palaces. | 28a lizard you can catch with the hand, but it gets into the palaces of the king. |
| 29Three things are stately in procession, four which are stately in their gait: | 29There are three things that are magnificent in their step, four things that move about magnificently: |
| 30The lion, mighty among the beasts, retreats before nothing. | 30a lion, mightiest of the beasts, who does not retreat from anything; |
| 31The strutting rooster, as well as the goat, and a king with his army. | 31a strutting rooster, a male goat, and a king with his army around him. |
| 32If you've foolishly exalted yourself or if you've plotted evil, put your hand over your mouth. | 32If you have done foolishly by exalting yourself or if you have planned evil, put your hand over your mouth! |
| 33Just as whipping milk produces butter, and twisting the nose causes bleeding, so also stirring up anger produces contention. | 33For as the churning of milk produces butter and as punching the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife. |
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