30 aThe words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even bthe prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,

2  cSurely I am more dbrutish than any man,

And have not the understanding of a man.

3  I neither learned wisdom,

cNor †have ethe knowledge of the holy.

4  fWho hath ascended up into heaven, or descended?

gWho hath gathered the wind in his fists?

hWho hath bound the waters in a garment?

Who hath established iall the ends of the earth?

kWhat is his name, and what is his son’s name, lif thou canst tell?

5  Every mnword of God is †pure:

nHe is a oshield unto them that put their trust in him.

6  pAdd thou not unto his words,

Lest he reprove thee, and thou qbe found a liar.

7  Two things have I required of thee;

†Deny me them not rbefore I die:

8  Remove far from me vanity and lies:

Give me neither poverty nor riches;

Feed me with food †convenient for me:

9  sLest I be full, and †deny thee,

And say, Who is the Lord?

Or lest I be poor, and steal,

And ttake the name of my God in vain.

10  †Accuse not a servant unto his master,

Lest he ucurse thee, and wthou be found guilty.

11  There is a generation that xcurseth their father,

And doth not bless their mother.

12  There is a generation that are ypure in their own eyes,

And yet is not washed from their filthiness.

13  There is a generation, O how zlofty are their eyes!

And their eyelids are lifted up.

14  There is a generation, awhose teeth are as swords,

And their bjaw teeth as knives,

To cdevour the poor from off the earth,

And the needy from among men.

15  The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give.

There are dthree things that are never satisfied,

Yea, dfour things say not, †It is enough:

16  eThe grave; and fthe barren womb;

The earth that is not filled with water;

And the fire that saith not, It is enough.

17  The eye that gmocketh at his father,

And hdespiseth ito obey his mother,

kThe ravens of ||the valley shall lpick it out,

And the young eagles shall eat it.

18  There be dthree things which are mtoo wonderful for me,

Yea, dfour which I know not:

19 nThe way of an eagle in the air;

The way of a serpent upon a rock;

oThe way of a ship in the †midst of the sea;

And the way of a man with a maid.

20  Such is the way of an adulterous woman;

She eateth, and wipeth her mouth,

And saith, I have done no wickedness.

21  For dthree things pthe earth is disquieted,

And for dfour which it cannot bear:

22  qFor a servant when he reigneth;

And ra fool when he is filled with meat;

23  For an sodious woman twhen she is married;

And an handmaid uthat is heir to her mistress.

24  There be four things which are little upon the earth,

But they are †exceeding wise:

25  vThe ants are a people not strong,

Yet wthey prepare their meat in the summer;

26  xThe yconies are but a feeble folk,

Yet make they their houses in xthe rocks;

27  The locusts zhave no king,

Yet go they forth all of them †aby bands;

28 The spider taketh hold with her hands,

And is in kings’ palaces.

29  There be bthree things which go well,

Yea, bfour are comely in going:

30  A clion which is strongest among beasts,

And dturneth not away for any;

31  A ||†greyhound; an he goat also;

And a king, against whom there is no rising up.

32  If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself,

Or if thou hast ethought evil,

fLay thine hand upon thy mouth.

33  Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter,

And the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood:

So the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

31 *The words of king aLemuel, bthe prophecy that his mother taught him.

2  What, my cson? and what, dthe cson of my womb?

And what, ethe cson of my vows?

3  fGive not thy strength unto women,

Nor thy ways gto that which destroyeth kings.

4  hIt is not for kings, O aLemuel, it is not for kings ito drink wine;

Nor for kprinces strong drink:

5  Lest they drink, and forget the law,

And †pervert the judgment †of any of the afflicted.

6  lGive strong drink unto him that is mready to perish,

And wine unto those that be †of heavy hearts.

7  Let him drink, and forget his poverty,

And remember his misery no more.

8  nOpen thy mouth for the dumb

In the cause of all †such as are appointed to destruction.

9  Open thy mouth, ojudge righteously,

And npplead the cause of the qpoor and needy.

10  rWho can find sa virtuous woman?

For ther price is far above urubies.

11  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her,

So that he shall have no need of spoil.

12  She will do him good and not evil

All the days of her life.

13  She xseeketh wool, and flax,

And worketh willingly with her hands.

14  She is like the merchants’ ships;

She bringeth her food from afar.

15  yShe riseth also while it is yet night,

And zgiveth meat to her household,

And aa portion to her maidens.

16  bShe considereth a field, and †buyeth it:

With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

17  cShe girdeth her loins with qstrength,

And strengtheneth her arms.

18  †She perceiveth that her merchandise is good:

Her dcandle goeth not out by night.

19  She layeth her hands to the spindle,

And her hands hold the edistaff.

20  †She fstretcheth out her hand to the gpoor;

Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the gneedy.

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

For all her household are clothed with ||hscarlet.

22  She maketh herself icoverings of tapestry;

Her clothing is ksilk and lpurple.

23  mHer husband is known nin the gates,

nWhen he sitteth among the elders of the land.

24  She maketh ofine linen, and selleth it;

And delivereth girdles unto the pmerchant.

25  qStrength and honour are her clothing;

And rshe shall rejoice in time to come.

26  She openeth her mouth with wisdom;

And in her tongue is the law of kindness.

27  She looketh well to the ways of her household,

And eateth not the bread of idleness.

28  Her children arise up, and call her blessed;

Her husband also, and he praiseth her.

29  Many daughters ||have done tvirtuously,

But thou excellest them all.

30  uFavour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:

But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.

31  Give her of the fruit of her hands;

And let her own works praise her in the gates.

Ecclesiastes

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The Preacher