1The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.[1] The man declares, I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out.[2]2Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. (Ps 49:10)3I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. (Pr 9:10)4Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know! (Job 26:8; Job 38:4; Ps 22:27; Ps 104:3; Isa 40:12; Joh 3:13; Re 19:12)5Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. (Ps 3:3; Ps 12:6; Ps 18:30)6Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. (De 4:2; De 12:32; Re 22:18)7Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: (Ge 45:28)8Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, (Job 23:12; Mt 6:11; Lu 11:3)9lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. (Ex 5:2; Ex 20:7; De 8:12; De 31:20; De 32:15; Jos 24:27; Ne 9:25; Job 21:14; Pr 30:22)10Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty. (Ps 15:3; Ps 101:5; Ec 7:21)11There are those[3] who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers. (Ex 21:17; Pr 20:20; Pr 30:17)12There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth. (Pr 16:2; Lu 18:11; Re 3:17)13There are those—how lofty are their eyes, how high their eyelids lift! (Ps 101:5)14There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind. (Job 29:17; Ps 14:4; Ps 57:4)15The leech has two daughters: Give and Give.[4] Three things are never satisfied; four never say, “Enough”: (Pr 6:16; Pr 30:18; Pr 30:21; Pr 30:29)16Sheol, the barren womb, the land never satisfied with water, and the fire that never says, “Enough.” (Ge 30:1; Pr 27:20)17The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures. (Ge 9:22; Nu 16:14; Pr 23:22; Pr 30:11; Jer 16:4)18Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: (Job 42:3; Pr 30:15)19the 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.20This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I have done no wrong.”21Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot bear up: (Pr 30:15; Joe 2:10; Am 8:8)22a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is filled with food; (Pr 19:10; Pr 30:9)23an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress. (De 21:15; Isa 54:1; Isa 62:4)24Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise: (Pr 30:15)25the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer; (Pr 6:6)26the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs; (Le 11:5; Ps 104:18)27the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank; (Pr 6:7; Joe 2:7; Joe 2:25)28the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.29Three things are stately in their tread; four are stately in their stride: (Pr 6:16; Pr 30:15; Pr 30:18; Pr 30:21)30the lion, which is mightiest among beasts and does not turn back before any; (Job 39:22)31the strutting rooster,[5] the he-goat, and a king whose army is with him.[6] (Job 40:16)32If you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or if you have been devising evil, put your hand on your mouth. (Job 21:5; Mic 7:16)33For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood, and pressing anger produces strife.