The Oracle of Agur

• Thus says the man to Ithiel, to Ithiel, and Ucal:[fn]
• 2 Certainly I am more stupid than a man, and the understanding of humankind is not for me.
• 3 And I have not learned wisdom, nor will I know knowledge of the Holy One.[fn]
• 4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of his hand?
• Who has wrapped water in a[fn] garment?
• Who has established all the ends of the earth?
• What is his name and what is the name of his child?
• For surely you know.
• 5 Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield for him who takes refuge in him.
• 6 Do not add to his words lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
• 7 Two things I ask from you; do not deny me before I die:
• 8 Keep falsehood and a lying word[fn] far from me; do not give me poverty or wealth;
• provide me with food only for my need.
• 9 Or else I will be satisfied and will deny him and say “Who is Yahweh?”
• Or[fn] I will be poor and will steal
  • and profane the name of my God.
  • 10 Do not slander a servant to his master, or else he will curse you and you will be guilty.
  • 11 There is a generation that will curse its father, and its mother it will not bless.
  • 12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, but from its filthiness it will not be cleansed.
  • 13 There is a generation—how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids they will lift.
  • 14 There is a generation whose teeth are swords, and its jawbones, knives,
• in order to devour the poor from the earth[fn]
  • and the needy from humankind.
  • 15 For the leech, there are two daughters; “Give, give!” they cry.
• As for three of these, they are not satisfied;
  • as for four, they do not say enough.
  • 16 Sheol[fn] and barrenness of womb, the land is not satisfied with water,
  • and fire does not say “enough!”
  • 17 The eye that mocks a father and scorns the obedience of a mother—
• the ravens of the valley will peck it out,
  • and the offspring of vultures will eat it.
  • 18 Three of these are too wonderful for me, and four, I do not understand them:
  • 19 the way of the eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock,
  • the way of a ship in the heart of the sea,
  • and the way of a man with a young woman.
  • 20 This is the way of a woman committing adultery: she eats and wipes her mouth,
  • and says “I have not done wrong.”
  • 21 Under three things the earth[fn] trembles, and under four, it is not able to bear up:
  • 22 under a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is satisfied with food;
  • 23 under an unloved woman when she gets married, and a maid when she succeeds her mistress.
  • 24 There are four small things on the earth, and they are exceedingly wise :[fn]
  • 25 The ants are a people who are not strong, yet they prepare their food in the summer;
  • 26 the badgers are a people who are not mighty, yet they set their house on the rock;
  • 27 there is no king for the locust, yet it marches in rank;
  • 28 a lizard you can seize with hands, yet it is in palaces of kings.
  • 29 There are three things that are magnificent of stride, and four that are magnificent when moving:
  • 30 a mighty lion among the beasts,[fn] but he will not turn back from any face ;[fn]
  • 31 a strutting rooster or he-goat, and a king whose army is with him.
  • 32 If you have been foolish by exalting yourself, and if you have devised evil, put your hand to your mouth.
  • 33 For pressing milk produces curd, and pressing the nose produces blood,
  • so pressing anger[fn] produces strife.