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This man’s oration to Ithiel,
to Ithiel, and to Ucal:
2 I am the most ignorant of men;
I lack a man’s ability to understand.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in His hands?
Who has bound up the waters in a cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is His name, and the name of His Son?
Surely you know!
5 Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
6 Do not add to His words,
or He will rebuke you, and you will be found a liar.
7 Two things I ask of you;
do not deny me them to me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me only with the food I need.
9 Otherwise, I might have too much and disown you,
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonour the name of my God.
10 Do not slander a servant to his master,
or he will curse you, and you will be held guilty.
11 There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12 There are those who are pure in their own eyes,
yet they are not cleansed of their own filthiness.
13 There are those—O how lofty are their eyes,
O how pretentious their gaze.
14 There are those whose teeth are swords,
whose fangs are knives,
to devour the poor from the earth,
and the needy from among mankind.
15 The leech has two daughters.
“Give, give!” they cry.
There are three things that are never satisfied,
four that never say, “Enough!”:
16 Sheol, the barren womb,
the land that is never satisfied with water,
and fire, which never says, “Enough!”
17 As for the eye that mocks a father,
and scorns obedience to a mother,
may the ravens of the valley pluck it out
and the young vultures eat it.
18 Three things are too amazing for me;
four I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20 This is the way of a adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done nothing wrong.”
21 Under three things the earth trembles,
under four it cannot bear up:
22 a servant who becomes king,
a fool when he is filled with food,
23 an unloved woman when she marries,
and a maidservant when she ousts her mistress.
24 Four things are small on the earth,
yet they are exceedingly wise:
25 the ants are a not a strong people,
yet they store up their food in the summer;
26 coneys are not a mighty people,
yet they make their homes in the rocks;
27 locusts have no king,
yet they all march forth in ranks;
28 a lizard can be caught with the hand,
yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
29 There are three things that are stately in their stride,
four that are stately in their walk:
30 a lion, mighty among beasts,
who does not retreat before anything;
31 a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
and a king at the head of his army.
32 If you have been foolish by exalting yourself,
or if you have been plotting evil,
put your hand over your mouth.
33 For as the churning of milk produces butter,
and as twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife.