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¹The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance. This man’s utterance to Ithiel: “I am weary, God, but I can prevail.

²Surely I am only a brute, not a man; I do not have human understanding.

³I have not learned wisdom, nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped 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? Surely you know!

⁵“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

⁶Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

⁷“Two things I ask of you, LORD; do not refuse me before I die:

⁸Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.

⁹Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

¹⁰“Do not slander a servant to their master, or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

¹¹“There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers;

¹²those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth;

¹³those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful;

¹⁴those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among mankind.

¹⁵“The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ they cry. “There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’:

¹⁶the grave, the barren womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

¹⁷“The eye that mocks a father, that scorns an aged mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures.

¹⁸“There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand:

¹⁹the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a young woman.

²⁰“This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’

²¹“Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up:

²²a servant who becomes king, a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,

²³a contemptible woman who gets married, and a servant who displaces her mistress.

²⁴“Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise:

²⁵Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;

²⁶hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags;

²⁷locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks;

²⁸a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

²⁹“There are three things that are stately in their stride, four that move with stately bearing:

³⁰a lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing;

³¹a strutting rooster, a he-goat, and a king secure against revolt.

³²“If you play the fool and exalt yourself, or if you plan evil, clap your hand over your mouth!

³³For as churning cream produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.”

¹The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.

²Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb! Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!

³Do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings.

⁴It is not for kings, Lemuel— it is not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer,

⁵lest they drink and forget what has been decreed, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

⁶Let beer be for those who are perishing, wine for those who are in anguish!

⁷Let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.

⁸Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.

⁹Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.

¹⁰A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.

¹¹Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.

¹²She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

¹³She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.

¹⁴She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.

¹⁵She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.

¹⁶She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.

¹⁸She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

²⁰She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.

²¹When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

²²She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

²³Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.

²⁵She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

²⁶She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

²⁷She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:

²⁹“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”

³⁰Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

³¹Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.