American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
There are four things which are little upon the earth,But they are exceeding wise:
The ants are a people not strong,Yet they provide their food in the summer;
The conies are but a feeble folk,Yet make they their houses in the rocks;
The locusts have no king,Yet go they forth all of them by bands;
The lizard {Or, thou canst seize with thy hands}taketh hold with her hands,Yet is she in kings' palaces.
The words of Agur the son of {Or, Jakeh, of Massa See Genesis 25:14.}Jakeh; the {Or, burden}oracle.The man saith {Or, as otherwise read, I have wearied myself, O God, I have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed: For I am &c.}unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
Surely I am more brutish than any man,And have not the understanding of a man;
And I have not learned wisdom, {Or, That I should have the knowledge &c.}Neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One.
Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended?Who hath gathered the wind in his fists?Who hath bound the waters in his garment?Who hath established all the ends of the earth?What is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou knowest?
Every word of God is {Hebrew: purified.}tried:He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him.
Add thou not unto his words,Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Two things have I asked of thee;Deny me them not before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lies;Give me neither poverty nor riches;Feed me with {Hebrew: the bread of my portion.}the food that is needful for me:
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is Jehovah?Or lest I be poor, and steal,And {Hebrew: handle the name.}use profanely the name of my God.
Slander not a servant unto his master,Lest he curse thee, and thou be held guilty.
There is a generation that curse their father,And bless not their mother.
There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes,And yet are not washed from their filthiness.
There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes!And their eyelids are lifted up.
There 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.
The {Or, vampire}horseleach hath two daughters, {Or, called}crying, Give, give.There are three things that are never satisfied,Yea, four that say not, Enough:
Sheol; and the barren womb;The earth that is not satisfied with water;And the fire that saith not, Enough.
The eye that mocketh at his father,And despiseth to obey his mother,The ravens of {Or, the brook}the valley shall pick it out,And the {Or, vultures}young eagles shall eat it.
There are three things which are too wonderful for me,Yea, four which I know not:
The 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 maiden.
So is the way of an adulterous woman;She eateth, and wipeth her mouth,And saith, I have done no wickedness.
{Hebrew: Under.}For three things the earth doth tremble,And for four, which it cannot bear:
For a servant when he is king;And a fool when he is filled with food;
For an odious woman when she is married;And a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
There are four things which are little upon the earth,But they are exceeding wise:
The ants are a people not strong,Yet they provide their food in the summer;
The conies are but a feeble folk,Yet make they their houses in the rocks;
The locusts have no king,Yet go they forth all of them by bands;
The lizard {Or, thou canst seize with thy hands}taketh hold with her hands,Yet is she in kings' palaces.
There are three things which are stately in their march,Yea, four which are stately in going:
The lion, which is mightiest among beasts,And turneth not away for any;
The {Or, war-horse Hebrew: well girt (or, well knit) in the loins.}greyhound; the he-goat also;And the king {Or, when his army is with him}against whom there is no rising up.
If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself,Or if thou hast thought evil,Lay thy hand upon thy mouth.
For the {Hebrew: pressing.}churning of milk bringeth forth butter,And the {Hebrew: pressing.}wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood;So the {Hebrew: pressing.}forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee:
For {Or, ye behold}behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;
and the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God choose, yea {Many ancient authorities omit and.}and the things that are not, that he might bring to nought the things that are:
that no flesh should glory before God.
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God, {Or, both rightousness and sanctification and redemption}and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
Go to the ant, thou sluggard;Consider her ways, and be wise:
And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain and my goods.
And I will say to my {Or, life}soul, {Or, life}Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry.
But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night {Greek: they require thy soul.}is thy {Or, life}soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be?
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
The words of Agur the son of {Or, Jakeh, of Massa See Genesis 25:14.}Jakeh; the {Or, burden}oracle.The man saith {Or, as otherwise read, I have wearied myself, O God, I have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed: For I am &c.}unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
Surely I am more brutish than any man,And have not the understanding of a man;
And I have not learned wisdom, {Or, That I should have the knowledge &c.}Neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One.
Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended?Who hath gathered the wind in his fists?Who hath bound the waters in his garment?Who hath established all the ends of the earth?What is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou knowest?
Every word of God is {Hebrew: purified.}tried:He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him.
Add thou not unto his words,Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Two things have I asked of thee;Deny me them not before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lies;Give me neither poverty nor riches;Feed me with {Hebrew: the bread of my portion.}the food that is needful for me:
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is Jehovah?Or lest I be poor, and steal,And {Hebrew: handle the name.}use profanely the name of my God.
Slander not a servant unto his master,Lest he curse thee, and thou be held guilty.
There is a generation that curse their father,And bless not their mother.
There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes,And yet are not washed from their filthiness.
There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes!And their eyelids are lifted up.
There 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.
The {Or, vampire}horseleach hath two daughters, {Or, called}crying, Give, give.There are three things that are never satisfied,Yea, four that say not, Enough:
Sheol; and the barren womb;The earth that is not satisfied with water;And the fire that saith not, Enough.
The eye that mocketh at his father,And despiseth to obey his mother,The ravens of {Or, the brook}the valley shall pick it out,And the {Or, vultures}young eagles shall eat it.
There are three things which are too wonderful for me,Yea, four which I know not:
The 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 maiden.
So is the way of an adulterous woman;She eateth, and wipeth her mouth,And saith, I have done no wickedness.
{Hebrew: Under.}For three things the earth doth tremble,And for four, which it cannot bear:
For a servant when he is king;And a fool when he is filled with food;
For an odious woman when she is married;And a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
There are four things which are little upon the earth,But they are exceeding wise:
The ants are a people not strong,Yet they provide their food in the summer;
The conies are but a feeble folk,Yet make they their houses in the rocks;
The locusts have no king,Yet go they forth all of them by bands;
The lizard {Or, thou canst seize with thy hands}taketh hold with her hands,Yet is she in kings' palaces.
There are three things which are stately in their march,Yea, four which are stately in going:
The lion, which is mightiest among beasts,And turneth not away for any;
The {Or, war-horse Hebrew: well girt (or, well knit) in the loins.}greyhound; the he-goat also;And the king {Or, when his army is with him}against whom there is no rising up.
If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself,Or if thou hast thought evil,Lay thy hand upon thy mouth.
For the {Hebrew: pressing.}churning of milk bringeth forth butter,And the {Hebrew: pressing.}wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood;So the {Hebrew: pressing.}forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
The high mountains are for the wild goats;The rocks are a refuge for the conies.
and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was {Or, the Christ Compare Hebrews 11:26.}Christ.
Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock:
and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon the rock.
And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and Jehovah brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all the night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.
And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the borders of Egypt; very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.
For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing, either tree or herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
And your spoil shall be gathered as the caterpillar gathereth: as locusts leap shall men leap upon it.
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you.
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven fallen unto the earth: and there was given to him the key of the pit of the abyss.
And he opened the pit of the abyss; and there went up a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth; and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
And it was said unto them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only such men as have not the seal of God on their foreheads.
And it was given them that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when it striketh a man.
And in those days men shall seek death, and shall in no wise find it; and they shall desire to die, and death fleeth from them.
And the {Greek: likenesses.}shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for war; and upon their heads as it were crowns like unto gold, and their faces were as men's faces.
And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to war.
And they have tails like unto scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men five months.
They have over them as king the angel of the abyss: his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek tongue he hath the name {That is, Destroyer.}Apollyon.
For though I am absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
The words of Agur the son of {Or, Jakeh, of Massa See Genesis 25:14.}Jakeh; the {Or, burden}oracle.The man saith {Or, as otherwise read, I have wearied myself, O God, I have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed: For I am &c.}unto Ithiel, unto Ithiel and Ucal:
Surely I am more brutish than any man,And have not the understanding of a man;
And I have not learned wisdom, {Or, That I should have the knowledge &c.}Neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One.
Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended?Who hath gathered the wind in his fists?Who hath bound the waters in his garment?Who hath established all the ends of the earth?What is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou knowest?
Every word of God is {Hebrew: purified.}tried:He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him.
Add thou not unto his words,Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Two things have I asked of thee;Deny me them not before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lies;Give me neither poverty nor riches;Feed me with {Hebrew: the bread of my portion.}the food that is needful for me:
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is Jehovah?Or lest I be poor, and steal,And {Hebrew: handle the name.}use profanely the name of my God.
Slander not a servant unto his master,Lest he curse thee, and thou be held guilty.
There is a generation that curse their father,And bless not their mother.
There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes,And yet are not washed from their filthiness.
There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes!And their eyelids are lifted up.
There 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.
The {Or, vampire}horseleach hath two daughters, {Or, called}crying, Give, give.There are three things that are never satisfied,Yea, four that say not, Enough:
Sheol; and the barren womb;The earth that is not satisfied with water;And the fire that saith not, Enough.
The eye that mocketh at his father,And despiseth to obey his mother,The ravens of {Or, the brook}the valley shall pick it out,And the {Or, vultures}young eagles shall eat it.
There are three things which are too wonderful for me,Yea, four which I know not:
The 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 maiden.
So is the way of an adulterous woman;She eateth, and wipeth her mouth,And saith, I have done no wickedness.
{Hebrew: Under.}For three things the earth doth tremble,And for four, which it cannot bear:
For a servant when he is king;And a fool when he is filled with food;
For an odious woman when she is married;And a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
There are four things which are little upon the earth,But they are exceeding wise:
The ants are a people not strong,Yet they provide their food in the summer;
The conies are but a feeble folk,Yet make they their houses in the rocks;
The locusts have no king,Yet go they forth all of them by bands;
The lizard {Or, thou canst seize with thy hands}taketh hold with her hands,Yet is she in kings' palaces.
There are three things which are stately in their march,Yea, four which are stately in going:
The lion, which is mightiest among beasts,And turneth not away for any;
The {Or, war-horse Hebrew: well girt (or, well knit) in the loins.}greyhound; the he-goat also;And the king {Or, when his army is with him}against whom there is no rising up.
If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself,Or if thou hast thought evil,Lay thy hand upon thy mouth.
For the {Hebrew: pressing.}churning of milk bringeth forth butter,And the {Hebrew: pressing.}wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood;So the {Hebrew: pressing.}forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,