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The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle.
The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
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Surely I am more senseless than any man,
And I do not have the understanding of mankind.
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Neither have I learned wisdom,
Nor do I know the knowledge of the Holy One.
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Who has ascended into heaven and descended?
Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
Who has wrapped the waters in His garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is His name? And what is His Son’s name?
Surely you know!
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Every word of God is tested;
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
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Do not add to His words
Lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar.
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Two things I asked of You,
Do not withhold from me before I die:
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Keep worthlessness and every false word far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the food that is my portion,
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Lest I be full and deny You and say, “Who is Yahweh?”
Or lest I be impoverished and steal,
And profane the name of my God.
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Do not slander a slave to his master,
Lest he curse you and you be found guilty.
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There is a generation that curses its father
And does not bless its mother.
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There is a generation that is clean in its own eyes,
Yet is not washed from its filthiness.
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There is a generation—oh how haughty are its eyes!
And its eyelids are lifted up.
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There is a generation whose teeth are like swords
And its fangs like knives,
To devour the afflicted from the earth
And the needy from among men.
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The leech has two daughters,
“Give,”“Give.”
There are three things that will not be satisfied,
Four that will not say, “Enough”:
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Sheol, and the barren womb,
Earth that is never satisfied with water,
And fire that never says, “Enough.”
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The eye that mocks a father
And despises obedience to a mother,
The ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young eagles will eat it.
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There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Four which I do not understand:
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The way of an eagle in the sky,
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a ship in the heart of the sea,
And the way of a man with a virgin.
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This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wrong.”
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Under three things the earth quakes,
And under four, it cannot bear up:
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Under a slave when he becomes king,
And a wicked fool when he is satisfied with food,
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Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
And a servant-girl when she supplants her mistress.
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Four things are small on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
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The ants are not a strong people,
But they prepare their food in the summer;
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The shephanim are not a mighty people,
Yet they make their houses in the cliff;
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The locusts have no king,
Yet all of them go out in rank;
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The lizard you may grasp with the hands,
Yet it is in kings’ palaces.
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There are three things which are stately in their march,
Even four which are stately when they walk:
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The lion which is mighty among the animals
And does not turn back before any,
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The strutting rooster, the male goat also,
And a king when his army is with him.
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If you have been wickedly foolish in lifting yourself up,
Or if you have schemed evil, put your hand on your mouth.
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For pressing milk brings forth butter,
And pressing the nose brings forth blood;
And pressing anger brings forth strife.