Proverbs [Sayings] 30:5-28

⁵“Every d'var Elohim ·word of God· is flawless. He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

⁶Don’t you add to his words, lest he reprove you, and you be found a liar.

⁷“Two things I have asked of you; don’t deny me before I die:

⁸Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is chok ·portioned, needful· for me;

⁹lest I be full, deny you, and say, ‘Who is Adonai ?’ or lest I be poor, and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

¹⁰“Don’t slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you 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, yet are not washed from their filthiness.

¹³There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes! Their eyelids are lifted up.

¹⁴There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and their jaws like knives, to devour the poor from the earth, and the needy from among men.

¹⁵“The leach has two daughters: they cry, ‘Give, give.’ “There are three things that are never satisfied; four that don’t say, ‘Enough:’

¹⁶Sheol ·Place of the dead·, the barren racham ·womb, bowels of compassion·; the earth that is not satisfied with water; and the fire that does not say, ‘Enough.’

¹⁷“The eye that mocks at his father, and scorns obedience to his mother: the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, the young eagles shall eat it.

¹⁸“There are three things which are too amazing for me, four which I don’t understand:

¹⁹The way of an eagle in the air; 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 maiden.

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

²¹“For three things the earth tremble, and under four, it can’t bear up:

²²For a servant when he is king; a fool when he is filled with food;

²³for an unloved (wife) when her husband takes her (back); and a servant who is heir to her mistress.

²⁴“There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise:

²⁵the ants are not a strong people, yet they provide their food in the summer.

²⁶The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks.

²⁷The locusts have no king, yet they advance in ranks.

²⁸You can catch a lizard with your hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.