Proverbs 30:4-20

⁴Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has gathered 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!

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 discipline you, and you will be proved to be a liar.

⁷Two things I ask of you, do not withhold them from me before I die:

⁸Put vanity and lies far away from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches, just give me the food I need.

⁹For if I have too much, I might deny you and say, “Who is Yahweh?” Or if I become poor, I might steal and profane the name of my God.

¹⁰Do not slander a slave before his master, or he will curse you and you will be held guilty.

¹¹There is a generation that curses their father and does not bless their mother.

¹²There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes, and yet they are not washed of their filth.

¹³There is a generation whose eyes are raised up, and how high are their eyelids lifted up!

¹⁴There is a generation whose teeth are swords, and their jawbones are like knives, so they may devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among humanity.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters: “Give and give” they cry. There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, “Enough”:

¹⁶Sheol; the barren womb; land that is never satisfied with water; and the fire that never says, “Enough!”

¹⁷The eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, his eyes will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, and he will be eaten by the vultures.

¹⁸There are three things that are too wonderful 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 in the heart of the sea; and the way of a man with a young woman.

²⁰This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and she wipes her mouth and says, “I have done nothing wrong.”