RSV Proverbs 30 Chapter
30:1
The words of Agur son of Jakeh of Massa. The man says to Ith'i-el, to Ith'i-el and Ucal:
30:2
Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man.
30:3
I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
30:4
Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name? Surely you know!
30:5
Every word of God proves true;he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
30:6
Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
30:7
Two things I ask of thee;deny them not to me before I die:
30:8
Remove far from me falsehood and lying;give me neither poverty nor riches;feed me with the food that is needful for me,
30:9
lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, 'Who is the LORD?' or lest I be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God.
30:10
Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.
30:11
There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
30:12
There are those who are pure in their own eyes but are not cleansed of their filth.
30:13
There are those -- how lofty are their eyes, how high their eyelids lift!
30:14
There are those whose teeth are swords, whose teeth are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among men.
30:15
The leech has two daughters;'Give, give,' they cry. Three things are never satisfied;four never say, 'Enough':
30:16
Sheol, the barren womb, the earth ever thirsty for water, and the fire which never says, 'Enough.'
30:17
The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.
30:18
Three things are too wonderful for me;four I do not understand:
30:19
the way of an eagle 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 maiden.
30:20
This is the way of an adulteress: she eats, and wipes her mouth, and says, 'I have done no wrong.'
30:21
Under three things the earth trembles;under four it cannot bear up:
30:22
a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is filled with food;
30:23
an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maid when she succeeds her mistress.
30:24
Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise:
30:25
the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer;
30:26
the badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the rocks;
30:27
the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank;
30:28
the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings' palaces.
30:29
Three things are stately in their tread;four are stately in their stride:
30:30
the lion, which is mightiest among beasts and does not turn back before any;
30:31
the strutting cock, the he-goat, and a king striding before his people.
30:32
If you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or if you have been devising evil, put your hand on your mouth.
30:33
For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood, and pressing anger produces strife.