Proverbs

 2 I am more ignorant than anyone else,+

And I lack the understanding a man should have.

 3 I have not learned wisdom,

And I do not possess the knowledge of the Most Holy One.

 6 Add nothing to his words,+

Or he will reprove you,

And you will be proved a liar.

Just let me consume my portion of food,+

 9 So that I do not become satisfied and deny you and say, “Who is Jehovah?”+

10 Do not slander a servant to his master,

Or he may curse you and you will be found guilty.+

11 There is a generation that curses its father

And does not bless its mother.+

12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes+

But has not been cleansed from its filth.*

13 There is a generation whose eyes are so haughty

And whose eyes look so arrogantly!+

14 There is a generation whose teeth are swords

And whose jaws are slaughtering knives;

They devour the lowly ones of the earth

And the poor from among mankind.+

There are three things that do not get satisfied,

Four that never say, “Enough!”

16 —The Grave*+ and a barren womb,

A land that is deprived of water,

And fire that never says, “Enough!”

17 The eye that mocks a father and despises obedience to a mother+

—The ravens of the valley* will peck it out,

And the young eagles will eat it up.+

18 There are three things that are beyond my comprehension,*

And four that I do not understand:

19 The way of an eagle in the heavens,

The way of a serpent on a rock,

The way of a ship in the open sea,

And the way of a man with a young woman.

She eats, she wipes her mouth;

Then she says, “I have done nothing wrong.”+

21 There are three things that make the earth shudder

And four things it cannot endure:

22 When a slave rules as king,+

When a fool is glutted with food,

23 When a hated* woman is taken as a wife,

And when a servant girl takes the place of* her mistress.+

24 Four things on earth are among the smallest,

But they are instinctively wise:*+

25 The ants are not strong creatures,*

Yet they prepare their food in the summer.+

26 The rock badgers*+ are not mighty creatures,*

Yet they make their house in the crags.+

27 The locusts+ have no king,

Yet they all go forward in formation.*+

28 The gecko lizard+ clings with its feet,

And it goes into the palace of a king.

29 There are three things that have an impressive stride,

Four that are impressive as they move:

30 The lion, the mightiest among beasts,

Which does not retreat from anyone;+

31 The greyhound; the male goat;

And a king whose army is with him.

32 If you have foolishly exalted yourself+

Or if you have schemed to do so,

Put your hand over your mouth.+

33 For as the churning of milk produces butter

And the squeezing of the nose produces blood,

So the stirring up of anger produces quarrels.+