1The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The burden: the utterance of the great man to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal.2For I am stupid, more than any man, and I have no understanding of man.3I have not learned wisdom, nor do I know the knowledge of the holy ones.4Who has ascended into heaven and come down? Who has gathered the spirit in his palms? Who has constrained the waters in a mantle? Who has raised all the ends of the land? What is his name, and what is the name of his son? Surely you know.5Every word of God is refined; he is a shield to those who seek refuge in him.6Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.7Two things I have asked of you; do not withhold them from me before I die.8Remove falsehood and a lying word far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food allotted to me.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.10Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you and you incur guilt.11There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother.12There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet is not washed from its filth.13There is a generation whose eyes are haughty and whose eyelids are lifted up.14There is a generation whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are knives, devouring the poor from the land and the needy from among humankind.15The leech has two daughters that cry, Give, give. Three things are never satisfied; four never say, Enough.16Sheol, the closed womb, the land never satisfied with water, and fire never say, Enough.17The eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother—the ravens of the valley will pick it out and the young eagles will eat it.18Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand.19The 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 maiden.20This is the way of an adulterous woman: 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.22Under a servant when he becomes king, and under a fool when he is filled with food.23Under a woman who is hated when she marries, and under a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.24Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise.25The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their food in the summer.26The rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the rocks.27The locusts have no king, yet they march out in ranks.28The lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is found in kings' palaces.29Three things are stately in their stride; four are stately in their gait.30The lion, mighty among beasts, does not turn back before any.31The strutting rooster, the he-goat, and a king with his army beside him.32If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, or if you have been plotting evil with your hand on your mouth.33For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood, and pressing anger produces strife.