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The Words of Agur

¹ The words of ^(F1)Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle: The man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ucal:

² Surely ^(F1)I am more brutish and ^(C1)stupid than any man,
And I do not have the understanding of a man for I do not know what I do not know.

³ I have not learned skillful and godly wisdom,
Nor do I have ^(C1)knowledge of the Holy One who is the source of wisdom.

⁴ Who has ^(C1)ascended into heaven and descended?
Who has gathered the ^(C2)wind in His fists?
Who has ^(C3)bound the waters in His garment?
Who has ^(C4)established all the ends of the earth?
What is His ^(C5)name, and what is His Son's name?
Certainly you know! ^(VR1)

⁵ Every ^(C1)word of God is tested and refined like silver;
He is a ^(C2)shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him. ^(VR1)

^6 (C1)Do not add to His words,
Or He will reprove you, and you will be found a liar.

⁷ Two things I have asked of You;
Do not deny them to me before I die:

⁸ Keep deception and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the ^(C1)food that is my portion,

⁹ So that I will not be ^(C1)full and deny ^(C2)You and say, "Who is the LORD?"
Or that I will not be ^(C3)poor and steal,
And so ^(C4)profane the name of my God. ^(VR1)

¹⁰ Do not slander or malign a servant before his master stay out of another's personal life,
Or he ^(C1)will curse you for your interference, and you will be found guilty.

¹¹ There is a generation (class of people) that ^(C1)curses its father
And does not bless its mother.

¹² There is a generation (class of people) that is ^(C1)pure in its own eyes,
Yet is not washed from its filthiness.

¹³ There is a generation (class of people)—oh, how ^(C1)lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids are raised in arrogance.

¹⁴ There is a generation (class of people) whose ^(C1)teeth are like swords
And whose ^(C2)jaw teeth are like knives,
To ^(C3)devour the afflicted from the earth
And the needy from among men.

¹⁵ The leech has two daughters,
"Give, give!"
There are three things that are never satisfied,
Four that do not say, "It is enough":

^16 (F1)(C1)Sheol, and the ^(C2)barren womb,
Earth that is never satisfied with water,
And fire that never says, "It is enough."

¹⁷ The eye that ^(C1)mocks a father
And ^(C2)scorns a mother,
The ^(C3)ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young ^(C3)vultures will devour it. ^(VR1)

¹⁸ There are three things which are too astounding and unexpectedly wonderful for me,
Four which I do not understand:

¹⁹ The way of an ^(C1)eagle in the air,
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.

²⁰ This is the way of an ^(C1)adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth
And says, "I have done no wrong."

²¹ Under three things the earth is disquieted and quakes,
And under four it cannot bear up:

²² Under a ^(C1)servant when he reigns,
Under a spiritually blind fool when he is filled with food,

²³ Under an unloved woman when she gets married,
And under a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.

²⁴ There are four things that are small on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:

²⁵ The ^(C1)ants are not a strong people,
Yet they prepare their food in the summer; ^(VR1)

²⁶ The ^(F1)(C1)shephanim are not a mighty folk,
Yet they make their houses in the rocks; ^(VR1)

²⁷ The locusts have no king,
Yet all of them go out in ^(C1)groups;

²⁸ You may grasp the lizard with your hands,
Yet it is in kings' palaces.

²⁹ There are three things which are stately in step,
Even four which are stately in their stride:

³⁰ The lion, which is ^(C1)mighty among beasts
And ^(C2)does not turn back before any;

³¹ The ^(F1)strutting rooster, the male goat also,
And the king when his army is with him.

³² If you have foolishly exalted yourself,
Or if you have plotted evil, ^(C1)put your hand on your mouth. ^(VR1)

³³ Surely the churning of milk produces butter,
And wringing the nose produces blood;
So the churning of ^(C1)anger produces strife.