1 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. The man’s oration to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 I am more stupid than any other man, and I lack man’s ability to understand.
3 I have not gained wisdom, and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son — if you know?
5 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
6 Don’t add to His words, or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.
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.
9 Otherwise, I might have too much and deny You, saying, “ Who is the LORD? ” or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God.
10 Don’t slander a servant to his master or he will curse you, and you will become guilty.
11 There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother.
12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filth.
13 There is a generation — how haughty its eyes and pretentious its looks.
14 There is a generation whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, devouring the oppressed from the land and the needy from among mankind.
15 The leech has two daughters: “ Give, Give!” Three things are never satisfied; four never say, “ Enough! ”:
16 Sheol; a childless womb; earth, which is never satisfied with water; and fire, which never says, “ Enough! ”
17 As for the eye that ridicules a father and despises obedience to a mother, may ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures eat it.
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.
