The Words of Agur
1The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
2Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.
3I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.
4Who 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?
5Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
6Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
7Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:
8Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
9Lest 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.
10Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
11There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
12There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
13There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
14There 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.
15The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
16The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
17The 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.
18There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
19The 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.
20Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
21For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:
22For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;
23For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
24There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
25The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
26The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
27The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
28The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.
29There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:
30A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
31A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
32If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
33Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Words of Agur
1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle: the man says to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 “Surely I am the most ignorant man, and don’t have a man’s understanding.
3 I have not learned wisdom, neither do I have the knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if you know?
5 “Every word of God is flawless. He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 Don’t you add to his words, lest he reprove you, and you be found a liar.
7 “Two things I have asked of you; don’t deny me before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me;
9 lest I be full, deny you, and say, ‘Who is Yahweh?’ or lest I be poor, and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
10 “Don’t slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.
11 There is a generation that curses their father, and doesn’t bless their mother.
12 There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes, yet are not washed from their filthiness.
13 There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes! Their eyelids are lifted up.
14 There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and their jaws like knives, to devour the poor from the earth, and the needy from among men.
15 “The leach has two daughters: ‘Give, give.’ “There are three things that are never satisfied; four that don’t say, ‘Enough:’
16 Sheol, the barren womb; the earth that is not satisfied with water; and the fire that doesn’t say, ‘Enough.’
17 “The eye that mocks at his father, and scorns obedience to his mother: the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, the young eagles shall eat it.
18 “There are three things which are too amazing for me, four which I don’t understand:
19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent on a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maiden.
20 “So is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth, and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’
21 “For three things the earth tremble, and under four, it can’t bear up:
22 For a servant when he is king; a fool when he is filled with food;
23 for an unloved woman when she is married; and a handmaid who is heir to her mistress.
24 “There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise:
25 the ants are not a strong people, yet they provide their food 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 they advance in ranks.
28 You can catch a lizard with your hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.
29 “There are three things which are stately in their march, four which are stately in going:
30 The lion, which is mightiest among animals, and doesn’t turn away for any;
31 the greyhound, the male goat also; and the king against whom there is no rising up.
32 “If you have done foolishly in lifting up yourself, or if you have thought evil, put your hand over your mouth.
33 For as the churning of milk brings forth butter, and the wringing of the nose brings forth blood; so the forcing of wrath brings forth strife.”
The Words of Agur
1 These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh—the burden that this man declared to Ithiel:
“I am weary, O God,
and worn out. a
2 Surely I am the most ignorant of men,
and I lack the understanding of a man.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in His hands?
Who has bound up 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 know!
5 Every word of God is flawless;
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
6 Do not add to His words,
lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.
7 Two things I ask of You—
do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the bread that is my portion.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much
and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
profaning the name of my God.
10 Do not slander a servant to his master,
or he will curse you, and you will bear the guilt.
11 There is a generation of those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12 There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes
and yet unwashed of their filth.
13 There is a generation—how haughty are their eyes
and pretentious are their glances—
14 there is a generation whose teeth are swords
and whose jaws are knives,
devouring the oppressed from the earth
and the needy from among men.
15 The leech has two daughters:
Give and Give.
There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
16 Sheol,
the barren womb,
land never satisfied with water,
and fire that never says, ‘Enough!’
17 As for the eye that mocks a father
and scorns obedience to a mother,
may the ravens of the valley pluck it out
and young vultures devour it.
18 There are three things too wonderful for me, four that I cannot understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship at sea,
and the way of a man with a maiden.
20 This is the way of an adulteress:
She eats and wipes her mouth
and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’
21 Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up:
22 a servant who becomes king,
a fool who is filled with food,
23 an unloved woman who marries,
and a maidservant who supplants her mistress.
24 Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise:
25 The ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;
26 the rock badgers b are creatures of little power, yet they make their homes in the rocks;
27 the locusts have no king, yet they all advance in formation;
28 and the lizard can be caught in one’s hands, yet it is found in the palaces of kings.
29 There are three things that are stately in their stride, and four that are impressive in their walk:
30 a lion, mighty among beasts, refusing to retreat before anything;
31 a strutting rooster;
a he-goat;
and a king with his army around him. c
32 If you have foolishly exalted yourself
or if you have plotted evil,
put your hand over your mouth.
33 For as the churning of milk yields butter,
and the twisting of the nose draws blood,
so the stirring of anger brings forth strife.”
Footnotes:
1 a Or declared to Ithiel: “I am weary, O God, but I can prevail. (revocalizations); Hebrew declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:
26 b Or the coneys or the hyraxes
31 c Or a king against whom there is no rising up
The Words of Agur
1Words of a Gatherer, son of an obedient one, the declaration, an affirmation of the man: -- I have wearied myself for God, I have wearied myself for God, and am consumed.
2For I am more brutish than any one, And have not the understanding of a man.
3Nor have I learned wisdom, Yet the knowledge of Holy Ones I know.
4Who went up to heaven, and cometh down? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound waters in a garment? Who established all ends of the earth? What is His name? and what His son's name? Surely thou knowest!
5Every saying of God is tried, A shield He is to those trusting in Him.
6Add not to His words, lest He reason with thee, And thou hast been found false.
7Two things I have asked from Thee, Withhold not from me before I die.
8Vanity and a lying word put far from me, Poverty or wealth give not to me, Cause me to eat the bread of my portion,
9Lest I become satiated, and have denied, And have said, 'Who is Jehovah?' And lest I be poor, and have stolen, And have laid hold of the name of my God.
10Accuse not a servant unto his lord, Lest he disesteem thee, and thou be found guilty.
11A generation is, that lightly esteemeth their father, And their mother doth not bless.
12A generation -- pure in their own eyes, But from their own filth not washed.
13A generation -- how high are their eyes, Yea, their eyelids are lifted up.
14A generation -- swords are their teeth, And knives -- their jaw-teeth, To consume the poor from earth, And the needy from among men.
15To the leech are two daughters, 'Give, give, Lo, three things are not satisfied, Four have not said 'Sufficiency;'
16Sheol, and a restrained womb, Earth -- it is not satisfied with water, And fire -- it hath not said, 'Sufficiency,'
17An eye that mocketh at a father, And despiseth to obey a mother, Dig it out do ravens of the valley, And eat it do young eagles.
18Three things have been too wonderful for me, Yea, four that I have not known:
19The way of the eagle in the heavens, 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 in youth.
20So -- the way of an adulterous woman, She hath eaten and hath wiped her mouth, And hath said, 'I have not done iniquity.'
21For three things hath earth been troubled, And for four -- it is not able to bear:
22For a servant when he reigneth, And a fool when he is satisfied with bread,
23For a hated one when she ruleth, And a maid-servant when she succeedeth her mistress.
24Four are little ones of earth, And they are made wiser than the wise:
25The ants are a people not strong, And they prepare in summer their food,
26Conies are a people not strong, And they place in a rock their house,
27A king there is not to the locust, And it goeth out -- each one shouting,
28A spider with two hands taketh hold, And is in the palaces of a king.
29Three there are going well, Yea, four are good in going:
30An old lion -- mighty among beasts, That turneth not back from the face of any,
31A girt one of the loins, or a he-goat, And a king -- no rising up with him.
32If thou hast been foolish in lifting up thyself, And if thou hast devised evil -- hand to mouth!
33For the churning of milk bringeth out butter, And the wringing of the nose bringeth out blood, And the forcing of anger bringeth out strife!
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