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1 The words of Agur son of Jakeh—the burden. An utterance of the strong man to Ithiel; to Ithiel and Ucal. 2 “Surely I am more brutish than man, and the understanding of man is not unto me. 3 And I have not learned wisdom or known the knowledge of holy ones. 4 Who has gone up to the heavens and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son? Surely you must know! 5 Every word of God is refined; He is a shield for those taking refuge in Him. 6 Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar. 7 Two things I have asked of You—do not withhold them from me before I die: 8 Put vanity and the word of a lie far away from me; do not give poverty or wealth to me; provide me the bread of my portion, 9 lest I become satisfied and I deny and say, ‘Who is YHWH?’ And lest I become dispossessed and steal, and I seize the name of my God. 10 Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you and you be found guilty. 11 A generation lightly esteems its father, and does not bless its mother. 12 A generation is pure in its own eyes and yet has not been washed from its filth. 13 A generation—how high its eyes, and its eyelids are lifted up! 14 A generation—its teeth are swords and its fangs are knives, to devour the poor from the earth, and needy ones from mankind. 15 Unto the leech are two daughters—‘Give, and Give. Three things are never satisfied, four never say, ‘Enough!’: 16 Sheol, and the barren womb, earth not satisfied with water, and the fire never having said, ‘Enough!’ 17 The eye that mocks at a father and despises obedience to a mother—the ravens of the valley will dig it out, and the young eagles will eat it. 18 Three things, they are wonderful for me, and four, I cannot know them: 19 The way of an eagle in the heavens, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a maiden. 20 This is the way of a woman committing adultery: She eats and has wiped her mouth and has said, ‘I have not done wickedness.’ Proverbs 30:1-20, Berean Literal Bible. Public domain.
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