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¹ The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.^[a](a)

The man's oration to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:^[b]

² I am more stupid than any other man,^[c]
and I lack man's ability to understand.^(b)
3 I have not gained wisdom,
and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.^(c)
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?^(d)
Who has gathered the wind in His hands?
Who has bound up the waters in a cloak?^(e)
Who has established all the ends of the earth?^(f)
What is His name,
and what is the name of His Son—
if you know?^(g)
5 Every word of God is pure;^[d](h)
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.^(i)
6 Don't add to His words,^(j)
or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.^(k)

⁷ Two things I ask of You;
don't deny them to me before I die:
⁸ Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need.^(l)
9 Otherwise, I might have too much^(m)
and deny You,⁽ⁿ⁾ saying, "Who is the Lord?"^(o)
or I might have nothing and steal,^(p)
profaning^[e] the name of my God.^(q)

¹⁰ Don't slander a servant to his master
or he will curse you,^(r) and you will become guilty.

¹¹ There is a generation that curses its father
and does not bless its mother.^(s)
12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,^(t)
yet is not washed from its filth.
¹³ There is a generation—how haughty its eyes
and pretentious its looks.^[f]
14 There is a generation whose teeth are swords,^(u)
whose fangs are knives,^(v)
devouring the oppressed from the land^(w)
and the needy from among mankind.

¹⁵ The leech has two daughters: "Give, Give!"
Three things^(x) are never satisfied;
four never say, "Enough!":
¹⁶ Sheol;^(y) a childless womb;^(z)
earth, which is never satisfied with water;
and fire, which never says, "Enough!"

¹⁷ As for the eye that ridicules a father^(aa)
and despises obedience to a mother,
may ravens of the valley pluck it out
and young vultures eat it.^(ab)

¹⁸ Three things are beyond me;
four I can't 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 young woman.

²⁰ This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, "I've done nothing wrong."^(ac)

²¹ The earth trembles under three things;
it cannot bear up under four:
²² a servant when he becomes king,^(ad)
a fool when he is stuffed with food,
²³ an unloved woman when she marries,^(ae)
and a servant girl when she ousts her queen.

²⁴ Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
²⁵ the ants are not a strong people,
yet they store up their food in the summer;^(af)
26 hyraxes are not a mighty people,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;^(ag)
27 locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in ranks;^(ah)
28 a lizard^[g] can be caught in your hands,
yet it lives in kings' palaces.

²⁹ Three things are stately in their stride,
even four are stately in their walk:
³⁰ a lion, which is mightiest among beasts
and doesn't retreat before anything,
³¹ a strutting rooster,^[h] a goat,
and a king at the head of his army.^[i]

³² If you have been foolish by exalting yourself
or if you've been scheming,
put your hand over your mouth.^(ai)
33 For the churning of milk produces butter,
and twisting a nose draws blood,
and stirring up anger produces strife.^(aj)