The Words of Agur

1The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle.

The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:

2Surely I am more stupid than any man,

And I do not have the understanding of a man.

3Neither have I learned wisdom,

Nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy One.

4Who 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 or His son’s name?

Surely you know!

5Every word of God is tested;

He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

6Do not add to His words

Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.

7Two things I asked of You,

Do not refuse me before I die:

8Keep deception and lies far from me,

Give me neither poverty nor riches;

Feed me with the food that is my portion,

9That 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.

10Do not slander a slave to his master,

Or he will curse you and you will be found guilty.

11There is a kind of man who curses his father

And does not bless his mother.

12There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes,

Yet is not washed from his filthiness.

13There is a kind—oh how lofty are his eyes!

And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.

14There 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.

15The leech has two daughters,

“Give,” “Give.”

There are three things that will not be satisfied,

Four that will not say, “Enough”:

16Sheol, and the barren womb,

Earth that is never satisfied with water,

And fire that never says, “Enough.”

17The 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.

18There are three things which are too wonderful for me,

Four which 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 middle of the sea,

And the way of a man with a maid.

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 quakes,

And under four, it cannot bear up:

22Under a slave when he becomes king,

And a fool when he is satisfied with food,

23Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband,

And a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.

24Four things are small on the earth,

But they are exceedingly wise:

25The ants are not a strong people,

But they prepare their food in the summer;

26The shephanim are not mighty people,

Yet they make their houses in the rocks;

27The locusts have no king,

Yet all of them go out in ranks;

28The lizard you may grasp with the hands,

Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

29There are three things which are stately in their march,

Even four which are stately when they walk:

30The lion which is mighty among beasts

And does not retreat before any,

31The strutting rooster, the male goat also,

And a king when his army is with him.

32If you have been foolish in exalting yourself

Or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth.

33For the churning of milk produces butter,

And pressing the nose brings forth blood;

So the churning of anger produces strife.

The Words of Lemuel

1The words of King Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him:

2What, O my son?

And what, O son of my womb?

And what, O son of my vows?

3Do not give your strength to women,

Or your ways to that which destroys kings.

4It is not for kings, O Lemuel,

It is not for kings to drink wine,

Or for rulers to desire strong drink,

5For they will drink and forget what is decreed,

And pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

6Give strong drink to him who is perishing,

And wine to him whose life is bitter.

7Let him drink and forget his poverty

And remember his trouble no more.

8Open your mouth for the mute,

For the rights of all the unfortunate.

9Open your mouth, judge righteously,

And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.

Description of a Worthy Woman

10An excellent wife, who can find?

For her worth is far above jewels.

11The heart of her husband trusts in her,

And he will have no lack of gain.

12She does him good and not evil

All the days of her life.

13She looks for wool and flax

And works with her hands in delight.

14She is like merchant ships;

She brings her food from afar.

15She rises also while it is still night

And gives food to her household

And portions to her maidens.

16She considers a field and buys it;

From her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17She girds herself with strength

And makes her arms strong.

18She senses that her gain is good;

Her lamp does not go out at night.

19She stretches out her hands to the distaff,

And her hands grasp the spindle.

20She extends her hand to the poor,

And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

21She is not afraid of the snow for her household,

For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

22She makes coverings for herself;

Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

23Her husband is known in the gates,

When he sits among the elders of the land.

24She makes linen garments and sells them,

And supplies belts to the tradesmen.

25Strength and dignity are her clothing,

And she smiles at the future.

26She opens her mouth in wisdom,

And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

27She looks well to the ways of her household,

And does not eat the bread of idleness.

28Her children rise up and bless her;

Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:

29“Many daughters have done nobly,

But you excel them all.”

30Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,

But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

31Give her the product of her hands,

And let her works praise her in the gates.

The Book of

ECCLESIASTES

The Futility of All Endeavor

1The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,

“Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”

3What advantage does man have in all his work

Which he does under the sun?

4A generation goes and a generation comes,

But the earth remains forever.

5Also, the sun rises and the sun sets;

And hastening to its place it rises there again.

6Blowing toward the south,

Then turning toward the north,

The wind continues swirling along;

And on its circular courses the wind returns.

7All the rivers flow into the sea,

Yet the sea is not full.

To the place where the rivers flow,

There they flow again.

8All things are wearisome;

Man is not able to tell it.

The eye is not satisfied with seeing,

Nor is the ear filled with hearing.

9That which has been is that which will be,

And that which has been done is that which will be done.

So there is nothing new under the sun.

10Is there anything of which one might say,

“See this, it is new”?

Already it has existed for ages

Which were before us.

11There is no remembrance of earlier things;

And also of the later things which will occur,

There will be for them no remembrance

Among those who will come later still.

The Futility of Wisdom

12I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 14I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. 15What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.

16I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. 18Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.