Proverbs 30-31

New International Version

Sayings of Agur

30 The sayings^(A) of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance.

This man’s utterance to Ithiel:

“I am weary, God,
    but I can prevail.^[a]
²Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
    I do not have human understanding.
³I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.^(B)
⁴Who has gone up^(C) to heaven and come down?
    Whose hands^(D) have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters^(E) in a cloak?^(F)
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name,^(G) and what is the name of his son?
    Surely you know!

⁵“Every word of God is flawless;^(H)
he is a shield^(I) to those who take refuge in him.
⁶Do not add^(J) to his words,
or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

⁷“Two things I ask of you, Lord;
    do not refuse me before I die:
⁸Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
    give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.^(K)
⁹Otherwise, I may have too much and disown^(L) you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’^(M)
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonor the name of my God.^(N)

¹⁰“Do not slander a servant to their master,
or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

¹¹“There are those who curse their fathers
    and do not bless their mothers;^(O)
¹²those who are pure in their own eyes^(P)
    and yet are not cleansed of their filth;^(Q)
¹³those whose eyes are ever so haughty,^(R)
    whose glances are so disdainful;
¹⁴those whose teeth^(S) are swords
    and whose jaws are set with knives^(T)
to devour^(U) the poor^(V) from the earth
    and the needy from among mankind.^(W)

¹⁵“The leech has two daughters.
‘Give! Give!’ they cry.

“There are three things that are never satisfied,^(X)
    four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
¹⁶the grave,^(Y) the barren womb,
    land, which is never satisfied with water,
    and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

¹⁷“The eye that mocks^(Z) a father,
that scorns an aged mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
will be eaten by the vultures.^(AA)

¹⁸“There are three things that are too amazing for me,
    four that I do not understand:
¹⁹the way of an eagle in the sky,
    the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
    and the way of a man with a young woman.

²⁰“This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth
and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’^(AB)

²¹“Under three things the earth trembles,
    under four it cannot bear up:
²²a servant who becomes king,^(AC)
    a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
²³a contemptible woman who gets married,
    and a servant who displaces her mistress.

²⁴“Four things on earth are small,
    yet they are extremely wise:
²⁵Ants are creatures of little strength,
    yet they store up their food in the summer;^(AD)
²⁶hyraxes^(AE) are creatures of little power,
    yet they make their home in the crags;
²⁷locusts^(AF) have no king,
    yet they advance together in ranks;
²⁸a lizard can be caught with the hand,
    yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

²⁹“There are three things that are stately in their stride,
    four that move with stately bearing:
³⁰a lion, mighty among beasts,
    who retreats before nothing;
³¹a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
    and a king secure against revolt.^[b]

³²“If you play the fool and exalt yourself,
    or if you plan evil,
    clap your hand over your mouth!^(AG)
³³For as churning cream produces butter,
    and as twisting the nose produces blood,
    so stirring up anger produces strife.”

Sayings of King Lemuel

31 The sayings^(AH) of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.

²Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!^(AI)
³Do not spend your strength^[c] on women,
your vigor on those who ruin kings.^(AJ)

⁴It is not for kings, Lemuel—
    it is not for kings to drink wine,^(AK)
    not for rulers to crave beer,
⁵lest they drink^(AL) and forget what has been decreed,^(AM)
    and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
⁶Let beer be for those who are perishing,
    wine^(AN) for those who are in anguish!
⁷Let them drink^(AO) and forget their poverty
    and remember their misery no more.

⁸Speak^(AP) up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
⁹Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.^(AQ)

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

¹⁰^[d]A wife of noble character^(AR) who can find?^(AS)
    She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹Her husband^(AT) has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value.^(AU)
¹²She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.
¹³She selects wool and flax
    and works with eager hands.^(AV)
¹⁴She is like the merchant ships,
    bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵She gets up while it is still night;
    she provides food for her family
    and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶She considers a field and buys it;
    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷She sets about her work vigorously;
    her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸She sees that her trading is profitable,
    and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹In her hand she holds the distaff
    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰She opens her arms to the poor
    and extends her hands to the needy.^(AW)
²¹When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²²She makes coverings for her bed;
    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³Her husband is respected at the city gate,
    where he takes his seat among the elders^(AX) of the land.
²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them,
    and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.^(AY)
²⁷She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹“Many women do noble things,
    but you surpass them all.”
³⁰Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
³¹Honor her for all that her hands have done,
    and let her works bring her praise^(AZ) at the city gate.

Footnotes

Proverbs 30:1 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text utterance to Ithiel, / to Ithiel and Ukal:
Proverbs 30:31 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
Proverbs 31:3 Or wealth
Proverbs 31:10 Verses 10-31 are an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.