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Every Word of God Is Tested

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

² Surely I am more ^(C1)senseless than any man,
And I do not have the understanding of mankind.

³ Neither have I learned wisdom,
Nor do I know the ^(C1)knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴ Who has ^(C1)ascended into heaven and descended?
Who has gathered the ^(C2)wind in His fists?
Who has ^(C3)wrapped the waters in ^(F1)His garment?
Who has ^(F2)(C4)established all the ends of the earth?
What is His ^(C5)name? And what is His ^(C6)Son's name?
Surely you know!

⁵ Every ^(C1)word of God is ^(F1)tested;
He is a ^(C2)shield to those who take refuge in Him.

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

⁷ Two things I asked of You,
Do not withhold from me before I die:

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

⁹ Lest I be ^(C1)full and deny ^(C2)You and say, "Who is Yahweh?"
Or lest I be ^(C3)impoverished and steal,
And ^(F1)(C4)profane the name of my God.

¹⁰ Do not slander a slave to his master,
Lest he ^(C1)curse you and you be found guilty.

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

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

¹³ There is a generation—oh how ^(C1)haughty are its eyes!
And its eyelids are lifted up.

¹⁴ There is a generation whose ^(C1)teeth are like swords
And its ^(C2)fangs 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 will not be satisfied,
Four that will not say, "Enough":

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

¹⁷ The eye that ^(C1)mocks a father
And ^(C2)despises obedience to a mother,
The ^(C3)ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young ^(C3)eagles will eat it.

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

¹⁹ The way of an ^(C1)eagle in the sky,
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a ship in the heart of the sea,
And the way of a man with a virgin.

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 quakes,
And under four, it cannot bear up:

²² Under a ^(C1)slave when he becomes king,
And a wicked fool when he is satisfied with food,

²³ Under ^(F1)an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
And a servant-girl when she supplants her mistress.

²⁴ Four things are small on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:

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

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

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

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

²⁹ There are three things which are stately in their march,
Even four which are stately when they walk:

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

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

³² If you have been wickedly foolish in lifting yourself up,
Or if you have schemed evil, ^(C1)put your hand on your mouth.

³³ For pressing milk brings forth butter,
And pressing the nose brings forth blood;
And pressing ^(C1)anger brings forth strife.