1 The words of Agur, son of Yakeh, the oracle {massa: prophetic pronouncement} and the utterance {neʼum: solemn declaration} of the man to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal.
2 Surely I am more brutish{ba'ar: lacking refinement} than any man, and I do not have the understanding{binat: discernment} of a man.
3 And I have not learned wisdom {chokhmah: mature discernment}, and the knowledge {daat: specialized insight} of the holy ones I do not know.
4 Who has ascended to the heavens and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His {the Creator, Ruler over Creation} fists {chafnav: palm}? Who has bound the waters in the garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His son, if you know?
5 Every word of God {Eloah: Perfectly Trustworthy} is refined {tzerufah: tested and pure}; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
6 Do not add to His words {devarav: utterances}, or He {Elohim, Reproving Judge} will rebuke you, and you will be found a liar.
7 Two things I have asked from You {addressee: source of help}; do not withhold them from me before I die {amut: reach the end of life}.
8 Remove from me emptiness {shav: worthless vanity} and speech of lies; poverty and riches do not give to me; feed me with bread of my portion {chukki: allotted share}.
9 Lest I be satisfied and deny You, and say, “Who is the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Keeper}?” Or lest I become poor and steal and misuse the name {shem: reputation} of my God.
10 Do not slander a servant {eved: subservient worker} to his master, lest he curse you and you are found guilty {ashamta: declared at fault}.
11 There is a generation who curses their father {aviv: ancestral authority} and does not bless their mother {imo: nurturing caregiver}.
12 There is a generation {dor: era or group} that is pure in its own eyes, and yet it has not been washed from its filth {tzoah: defilement}.
13 A generation {dor: proud cohort}—how lofty {ramu: exalted in pride} are their eyes, and their eyelids are lifted up.
14 There is a generation whose teeth are swords, and whose jaw-teeth {metal‘otav: large fangs or molars used in predation} are knives, to devour the poor {aniyyim: those oppressed or afflicted} from the earth and the needy from among men.
15 The leech has two daughters calling “Give, give.” There are three who are never satisfied {tishba‘nāh: continually filled} and four who have not said “Enough” {hôn: sufficiency}.
16 The grave, the barren {otser: closed source} womb, the earth that is not satisfied {sab'ah: fully filled} with water, and the fire that does not say, “Enough.”
17 The eye that mocks a father and despises to obey {liqqahat: received instruction} a mother is plucked out by ravens {orvei-nakhal: valley scavengers} of the valley, and the young eagles will eat it.
18 Three things are marvelous {nifle'u: surpassing comprehension} for me, and four I do not discern {yadatiym: fully perceive}.
19 The way of the eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship {oniyah: seagoing vessel} in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a young woman {almah: unmarried maiden}.
20 Thus is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats, and wipes her mouth {piha: instrument of denial}, and says, “I have done no wickedness” {aven: moral corruption}.
21 Under three things the earth trembles{ragezah: quakes fearfully}, and under four she cannot bear{se'et: to carry weight}.
22 Under a servant {eved: social inferior} when he reigns, and a fool when he has his fill of food {lahem: staple provision}.
23 In the case of an unloved woman {s'nuah: one who is hated} when she becomes a wife, and of a maidservant when she inherits her mistress {gevirtah: female master}.
24 Four little ones {ketannei-aretz: having small stature} on the earth, yet they are exceedingly wise {mechukkamim: skillfully discerning}.
25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare {vayakhinu: proactive provisioning} their bread in the summer {bakayitz: harvest season}.
26 The conies {shfanim: rock hyraxes} are a people not mighty, yet they set their house in the rock {sela: rocky cliff}.
27 The locusts {laarbeh: swarming insects} have no king, yet they all go out in divisions {chotzetz: organized ranks};
28 The lizard {semamit: small reptile} takes hold with the hands, yet she dwells in the palaces of a king {melekh: sovereign ruler}.
29 There are three that go well in their stride {tsa‘ad: dignified step}, and four that are excellent in walking {lachet: dignified gait}.
30 The lion {layish: symbol of courage}, mighty among the beasts {behemah: animal world}, does not turn aside before anything.
31 One girded {zarzir: tightly bound} at the loins, or a male goat, and a king {mé-leḵ: sovereign ruler} whose forces are with him.
32 If you have acted foolishly {navalta: foolish behavior} by exalting yourself, or if you have planned evil, put your hand over your mouth {lefeh: silent restraint}.
33 For the pressing {mits: literal squeezing} of milk brings forth curds, the pressing of the nose brings forth blood, and pressing anger brings forth strife {rib: heated dispute}.