5 Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
6 Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.
7 Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,
9 That I not be full and deny [You] and say, |Who is the LORD?| Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.
10 Do not slander a slave to his master, Or he will curse you and you will be found guilty.
11 There is a kind of [man] who curses his father And does not bless his mother.
12 There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, Yet is not washed from his filthiness.
13 There is a kind-- oh how lofty are his eyes! And his eyelids are raised [in arrogance].
14 There is a kind of [man] whose teeth are [like] swords And his jaw teeth [like] knives, To devour the afflicted from the earth And the needy from among men.
15 The leech has two daughters, |Give,| |Give.| There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, |Enough|:
16 Sheol, and the barren womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, |Enough.|
17 The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.
18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand:
19 The way of an eagle in the sky, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the middle of the sea, And the way of a man with a maid.
20 This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, |I have done no wrong.|
21 Under three things the earth quakes, And under four, it cannot 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 a husband, And a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.
24 Four things are small on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise:
25 The ants are not a strong people, But they prepare their food in the summer;
26 The shephanim are not mighty people, Yet they make their houses in the rocks;
27 The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in ranks;
28 The lizard you may grasp with the hands, Yet it is in kings' palaces.
29 There are three things which are stately in [their] march, Even four which are stately when they walk:
30 The lion [which] is mighty among beasts And does not retreat before any,
31 The strutting rooster, the male goat also, And a king [when his] army is with him.
32 If you have been foolish in exalting yourself Or if you have plotted [evil], [put your] hand on your mouth.
33 For the churning of milk produces butter, And pressing the nose brings forth blood; So the churning of anger produces strife.
