| 1 | The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, {even} the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal, |
| 2 | Surely I {am} more brutish than {any} man, and have not the understanding of a man. |
| 3 | I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. |
| 4 | Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what {is} his name, and what {is} his son’s name, if thou canst tell? |
| 5 | Every word of God {is} pure: he {is} a shield unto them that put their trust in him. |
| 6 | Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. |
| 7 | Two {things} have I required of thee; deny me {them} not before I die: |
| 8 | Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: |
| 9 | Lest I be full, and deny {thee}, and say, Who {is} the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God {in vain}. |
| 10 | Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty. |
| 11 | {There is} a generation {that} curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. |
| 12 | {There is} a generation {that are} pure in their own eyes, and {yet} is not washed from their filthiness. |
| 13 | {There is} a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. |
| 14 | {There is} a generation, whose teeth {are as} swords, and their jaw teeth {as} knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from {among} men. |
| 15 | The horseleach hath two daughters, {crying}, Give, give. There are three {things that} are never satisfied, {yea}, four {things} say not, {It is} enough: |
| 16 | The grave; and the barren womb; the earth {that} is not filled with water; and the fire {that} saith not, {It is} enough. |
| 17 | The eye {that} mocketh at {his} father, and despiseth to obey {his} mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. |
| 18 | There be three {things which} are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: |
| 19 | The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid. |
| 20 | Such {is} the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness. |
| 21 | For three {things} the earth is disquieted, and for four {which} it cannot bear: |
| 22 | For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat; |
| 23 | For an odious {woman} when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress. |
| 24 | There be four {things which are} little upon the earth, but they {are} exceeding wise: |
| 25 | The ants {are} a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; |
| 26 | The conies {are but} a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; |
| 27 | The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; |
| 28 | The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces. |
| 29 | There be three {things} which go well, yea, four are comely in going: |
| 30 | A lion {which is} strongest among beasts, and turneth not away {for any}; |
| 31 | A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom {there is} no rising up. |
| 32 | If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, {lay} thine hand upon thy mouth. |
| 33 | Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife. |