1 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.1Or Jakeh, the man of Massa
The man declares, I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and worn out.
2 Surely I am toomSee Ps. 49:10 stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge ofnch. 9:10 the Holy One.
4 Who hasoJohn 3:13 ascended to heaven and come down?
Who hasp[Isa. 40:12]; See Job 38:4-11; Ps. 104:3-6 gathered the wind in his fists?
Who hasqJob 26:8 wrapped up the waters in a garment?
Who has established allrPs. 22:27 the ends of the earth?
s[Rev. 19:12] What is his name, and what is his son's name?
Surely you know!
5 tPs. 12:6; 18:30 Every word of God proves true;
he isuSee Ps. 3:3 a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 vDeut. 4:2; 12:32; [Rev. 22:18] Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
7 Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to mewGen. 45:28 before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that isxJob 23:12; Matt. 6:11; Luke 11:3 needful for me,
9 lest I beyDeut. 8:12; 31:20; 32:15; Neh. 9:25; [ver. 22] full andzJosh. 24:27 deny you
and say,aEx. 5:2 “Who is the Lord? ”
or lest I be poor and steal
b[Job 21:14, 15]; See Ex. 20:7 and profane the name of my God.
10 c[Ps. 15:3; 101:5] Do not slander a servant to his master,
dEccles. 7:21 lest he curse you and you be held guilty.
11 There are those whoech. 20:20; [ver. 17]; See Ex. 21:17 curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12 There are those who arefch. 16:2; [Luke 18:11; Rev. 3:17] clean in their own eyes
but are not washed of their filth.
13 There are those—howgSee Ps. 101:5 lofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!
14 There are those whose teeth arehSee Ps. 57:4 swords,
whoseiJob 29:17 fangs are knives,
tojSee Ps. 14:4 devour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mankind.
15 The leech has two daughters;
“Give ” and “Give, ” they cry.1Or “Give, give,” they cry
kver. 18, 21, 29; [ch. 6:16] Three things are never satisfied;
kver. 18, 21, 29; [ch. 6:16] four never say, “Enough ” :
16 lSee ch. 27:20 Sheol,m[Gen. 30:1] the barren womb,
the land never satisfied with water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough. ”
17 The eye thatn[ver. 11; Gen. 9:22] mocks a father
ando[ch. 23:22] scorns to obey a mother
willp[Num. 16:14] be picked out byq[Jer. 16:4] the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.
18 k[See ver. 15 above] Three things arerSee Job 42:3 too wonderful for me;
k[See ver. 15 above] four I do not understand:
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 virgin.
20 This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done no wrong. ”
21 Underk[See ver. 15 above] three thingssJoel 2:10; Amos 8:8 the earth trembles;
underk[See ver. 15 above] four it cannot bear up:
22 tch. 19:10 a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he isu[ver. 9] filled with food;
23 vDeut. 21:15 an unloved woman when shew[Isa. 54:1; 62:4] gets a husband,
and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
24 k[See ver. 15 above] Four things on earth are small,
but they are exceedingly wise:
25 xch. 6:6-8 the ants are a people not strong,
yet they provide their food in the summer;
26 yLev. 11:5; Ps. 104:18 the rock badgers are a people not mighty,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27 the locusts have noz[ch. 6:7] king,
yet all of them march ina[Joel 2:7, 8, 25] rank;
28 the lizard you can take in your hands,
yet it is in kings' palaces.
29 bver. 15, 18, 21; [ch. 6:16] Three things are stately in their tread;
bver. 15, 18, 21; [ch. 6:16] four are stately in their stride:
30 the lion, which is mightiest among beasts
andc[Job 39:22] does not turn back before any;
31 thed[Job 40:16] strutting rooster,1Or the magpie, or the greyhound; Hebrew girt-of-loins the he-goat,
and a king whose army is with him.2Or against whom there is no rising up
32 If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,
or if you have been devising evil,
eMic. 7:16; See Job 21:5 put your hand on your mouth.
33 For pressing milk produces curds,
pressing the nose produces blood,
and pressing anger produces strife.