Proverbs 30

¹The wordis of hym that gaderith, of the sone spuynge. The prophesie which a man spak, with whom God was, and which man was coumfortid bi God dwellyng with hym,

²and seide, Y am the moost fool of men; and the wisdom of men is not with me.

³Y lernede not wisdom; and Y knew not the kunnyng of hooli men.

⁴Who stiede in to heuene, and cam doun? Who helde togidere the spirit in hise hondis? who bonde togidere watris as in a cloth? Who reiside alle the endis of erthe? What is name of hym? and what is the name of his sone, if thou knowist?

⁵Ech word of God is a scheld set a fiere, to alle that hopen in hym.

⁶Adde thou not ony thing to the wordis of hym, and thou be repreued, and be foundun a liere.

⁷I preiede thee twei thingis; denye not thou to me, bifor that Y die.

⁸Make thou fer fro me vanyte and wordis of leesyng; yyue thou not to me beggery and richessis; yyue thou oneli necessaries to my lijflode;

⁹lest perauenture Y be fillid, and be drawun to denye, and seie, Who is the Lord? and lest Y compellid bi nedynesse, stele, and forswere the name of my God.

¹⁰Accuse thou not a seruaunt to his lord, lest perauenture he curse thee, and thou falle doun.

¹¹A generacioun that cursith his fadir, and that blessith not his modir.

¹²A generacioun that semeth cleene to it silf, and netheles is not waischun fro hise filthis.

¹³A generacioun whose iyen ben hiy, and the iye liddis therof ben reisid in to hiy thingis.

¹⁴A generacioun that hath swerdis for teeth, and etith with hise wank teeth; that it ete nedi men of erthe, and the porails of men.

¹⁵The watir leche hath twei douytris, seiynge, Brynge, bringe. Thre thingis ben vnable to be fillid, and the fourthe, that seith neuere, It suffisith;

¹⁶helle, and the mouth of the wombe, and the erthe which is neuere fillid with water; but fier seith neuere, It suffisith.

¹⁷Crowis of the stronde picke out thilke iye, that scorneth the fadir, and that dispisith the child beryng of his modir; and the briddis of an egle ete that iye.

¹⁸Thre thingis ben hard to me, and outirli Y knowe not the fourthe thing;

¹⁹the weye of an egle in heuene, the weie of a serpent on a stoon, the weie of a schip in the myddil of the see, and the weie of a man in yong wexynge age.

²⁰Siche is the weie of a womman auowtresse, which etith, and wipith hir mouth, and seith, Y wrouyte not yuel.

²¹The erthe is moued bi thre thingis, and the fourthe thing, which it may not susteyne;

²²bi a seruaunt, whanne he regneth; bi a fool, whanne he is fillid with mete;

²³bi an hateful womman, whanne sche is takun in matrymonye; and bi an handmaide, whanne sche is eir of hir ladi.

²⁴Foure ben the leeste thingis of erthe, and tho ben wisere than wise men;

²⁵amtis, a feble puple, that maken redi mete in heruest to hem silf;

²⁶a hare, a puple vnmyyti, that settith his bed in a stoon;

²⁷a locust hath no kyng, and al goith out bi cumpanyes; an euete enforsith with hondis,

²⁸and dwellith in the housis of kingis.

²⁹Thre thingis ben, that goon wel, and the fourthe thing, that goith richeli.

³⁰A lioun, strongeste of beestis, schal not drede at the meetyng of ony man;

³¹a cok gird the leendis, and a ram, and noon is that schal ayenstonde him.

³²He that apperith a fool, aftir that he is reisid an hiy; for if he hadde vndurstonde, he hadde sett hond on his mouth.

³³Forsothe he that thristith strongli teetis, to drawe out mylk, thristith out botere; and he that smytith greetli, drawith out blood; and he that stirith iris, bringith forth discordis.

Proverbs 30

¹The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,

²Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.

³I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.

⁴Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?

⁵Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

⁶Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

⁷Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:

⁸Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:

⁹Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

¹⁰Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.

¹¹There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.

¹²There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

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

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

¹⁵The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:

¹⁶The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.

¹⁷The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

¹⁸There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:

¹⁹The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

²⁰Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

²¹For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:

²²For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;

²³For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

²⁴There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:

²⁵The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

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

²⁷The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

²⁸The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.

²⁹There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:

³⁰A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;

³¹A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.

³²If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.

³³Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.