and gives them up will find mercy.
14Happy is the man who is anxious always,
But he who hardens his heart falls into misfortune.
15A roaring lion and a prowling bear
Is a wicked man ruling a helpless people.
16A prince who lacks understanding is very oppressive;
He who spurns ill-gotten gains will live long.
17A man oppressed by bloodguilt will flee to a pit;
Let none give him support.
18He who lives blamelessly will be delivered,
But he who is crooked in his ways will fall all at once.
19He who tills his land will have food in plenty.
But he who pursues vanities will have poverty in plenty.
20A dependable man will receive many blessings,
But one in a hurry to get rich will not go unpunished.
21To be partial is not right;
A man may do wrong for a piece of bread.
22A miserly man runs after wealth;
He does not realize that loss will overtake it.
23He who reproves a man will in the end
Find more favor than he who flatters him.
24He who robs his father and mother and says, “It is no offense,”
Is a companion to vandals.
25A greedy man provokes quarrels,
But he who trusts the LORD shall enjoy prosperity.
26He who trusts his own instinct is a dullard,
But he who lives by wisdom shall escape.
27He who gives to the poor will not be in want,
But he who shuts his eyes will be roundly cursed.
28When the wicked rise up, men go into hiding,
But when they perish the righteous increase.
29 One oft reproved may become stiff-necked,
But he will be suddenly broken beyond repair.
2When the righteous become great the people rejoice,
But when the wicked dominate the people groan.
3A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father,
But he who keeps company with harlots will lose his wealth.
4By justice a king sustains the land,
But a fraudulent man tears it down.
5A man who flatters his fellow
Spreads a net for his feet.
6An evil man’s offenses are a trap for himself,
But the righteous sing out joyously.
7A righteous man is concerned with the cause of the wretched;
A wicked man cannot understand such concern.
8Scoffers inflame a city,
But the wise allay anger.
9When a wise man enters into litigation with a fool
There is ranting and ridicule, but no satisfaction.
10Bloodthirsty men detest the blameless,
But the upright seek them out.
11A dullard vents all his rage,
But a wise man calms it down.
12A ruler who listens to lies,
All his ministers will be wicked.
13A poor man and a fraudulent man meet;
The LORD gives luster to the eyes of both.
14A king who judges the wretched honestly,
His throne will be established forever.
15Rod and reproof produce wisdom,
But a lad out of control is a disgrace to his mother.
16When the wicked increase, offenses increase,
But the righteous will see their downfall.
17Discipline your son and he will give you peace;
He will gratify you with dainties.
18For lack of vision a people lose restraint,
But happy is he who heeds instruction.
19A slave cannot be disciplined by words;
Though he may comprehend, he does not respond.
20If you see a man hasty in speech,
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
21A slave pampered from youth
a-Will come to a bad end.-a
22An angry man provokes a quarrel;
A hot-tempered man commits many offenses.
23A man’s pride will humiliate him,
But a humble man will obtain honor.
24He who shares with a thief is his own enemy;
He hears the imprecation and does not tell.b
25A man’s fears become a trap for him,
But he who trusts in the LORD shall be safeguarded.
26Many seek audience with a ruler,
But it is from the LORD that a man gets justice.
27The unjust man is an abomination to the righteous,
And he whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked.
30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh, [man of] Massa; The speech of
the man to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
2I am brutish, less than a man;
I lack common sense.
3I have not learned wisdom,
Nor do I possess knowledge of the Holy One.
4Who has ascended heaven and come down?
Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hand?
Who has wrapped the waters in his garment?
Who has established all the extremities of the earth?
What is his name or his son’s name, if you know it?
5Every word of God is pure,
A shield to those who take refuge in Him.
6Do not add to His words,
Lest He indict you and you be proved a liar.
7Two things I ask of you; do not deny them to me before I die:
8Keep lies and false words far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches,
But provide me with my daily bread,
9Lest, being sated, I renounce, saying,
“Who is the LORD?”
Or, being impoverished, I take to theft
And profanea the name of my God.
10Do not inform on a slave to his master,
Lest he curse you and you incur guilt.
11 There is a breed of men that brings a curse on its fathers
And brings no blessing to its mothers,
12A breed that thinks itself pure,
Though it is not washed of its filth;
13A breed so haughty of bearing, so supercilious;
14A breed whose teeth are swords,
Whose jaws are knives,
Ready to devour the poor of the land,
The needy among men.
15The leech has two daughters, “Give!” and “Give!”
Three things are insatiable;
Four never say, “Enough!”:
16Sheol, a barren womb,
Earth that cannot get enough water,
And fire which never says, “Enough!”
17The eye that mocks a father
And disdains the homage due a mother—
The ravens of the brook will gouge it out,
Young eagles will devour it.
18Three things are beyond me;
Four I cannot fathom:
19How an eagle makes its way over the sky;
How a snake makes its way over a rock;
How a ship makes its way through the high seas;
How a man has his way with a maiden.
20Such is the way of an adulteress:
She eats, wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wrong.”
21The earth shudders at three things,
At four which it cannot bear:
22A slave who becomes king;
A scoundrel sated with food;
23A loathsome woman who gets married;
A slave-girl who supplants her mistress.
24Four are among the tiniest on earth,
Yet they are the wisest of the wise:
25Ants are a folk without power,
Yet they prepare food for themselves in summer;
26The badger is a folk without strength,
Yet it makes its home in the rock;
27The locusts have no king,
Yet they all march forth in formation;
28You can catch the lizardb in your hand,
Yet it is found in royal palaces.
29There are three that are stately of stride,
Four that carry themselves well:
30The lion is mightiest among the beasts,
And recoils before none;
31a-The greyhound, the he-goat,
The king whom none dares resist.-a
32If you have been scandalously arrogant,
If you have been a schemer,
Then clap your hand to your mouth.
33As milk under pressure produces butter,
And a nose under pressure produces blood,
So patience under pressure produces strife.
31 The words of Lemuel, king of Massa, with which his mother admonished him:
2No, my son!
No, O son of my womb!
No, O son of my vows!
3Do not give your strength to women,
Your vigor,a b-to those who destroy kings.-b
4Wine is not for kings, O Lemuel;
Not for kings to drink,
Nor any strong drink for princes,
5Lest they drink and forget what has been ordained,
And infringe on the rights of the poor.
6Give strong drink to the hapless
And wine to the embittered.
7Let them drink and forget their poverty,
And put their troubles out of mind.
8Speak up for the dumb,
For the rights of all the unfortunate.
9Speak up, judge righteously,
Champion the poor and the needy.
10What a rare find is a capable wife!
Her worth is far beyond that of rubies.
11Her husband puts his confidence in her,
And lacks no good thing.
12She is good to him, never bad,
All the days of her life.
13She looks for wool and flax,
And sets her hand to them with a will.
14She is like a merchant fleet,
Bringing her food from afar.
15She rises while it is still night,
And supplies provisions for her household,
The daily fare of her maids.
16She sets her mind on an estate and acquires it;
She plants a vineyard by her own labors.
17She girds herself with strength,
c-And performs her tasks with vigor.-c
18She seesd that her business thrives;
Her lamp never goes out at night.
19She sets her hand to the distaff;
Her fingers work the spindle.
20She gives generously to the poor;
Her hands are stretched out to the needy.
21She is not worried for her household because of snow,
For her whole household is dressed in crimson.
22She makes covers for herself;
Her clothing is linen and purple.
23Her husband is prominent in the gates,
As he sits among the elders of the land.
24She makes cloth and sells it,
And offers a girdle to the merchant.
25She is clothed with strength and splendor;
She looks to the future cheerfully.
26Her mouth is full of wisdom,
Her tongue with kindly teaching.
27She oversees the activities of her household
And never eats the bread of idleness.
28Her children declare her happy;
Her husband praises her,
29“Many women have done well,
But you surpass them all.”
30Grace is deceptive,
Beauty is illusory;
It is for her fear of the LORD
That a woman is to be praised.
31Extol her for the fruit of her hand,
And let her works praise her in the gates.

a Or “best part.”
b In Proverbs, wisdom is personified as a woman.
a Lit. “strange.”
a Lit. “navel.”
a Or “best part.”
a Lit. “strange.”
a Or “a stranger.”
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c Lit. “alien.”
a Lit. “strange.”
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a According to some Heb. mss. and printed editions, “judges of the earth.”
a-a Clauses transposed for clarity.
a Lit. “lips.”
a Lit. “whole.”
b Or “a stranger.”
c Lit. “Hand to hand”; meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a Lit. “mouth.”
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c Or “harsh.”
a-a Taking ‘al as from ‘ll; cf. Hos. 12.3.
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a For leb as a source of speech, see note to Eccl. 5.1.
a Lit. “Hand to hand”; meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b Lit. “mouth.”
c-c Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b-b Or “a cheerful face”; meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b Or “But.”
c-c Or “pay attention to his moaning.”
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b Or “a stranger.”
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Lit. “in the square.”
b Lit.