The Message Bible MSG
English Standard Version ESV
1 The skeptic swore, "There is no God! No God! - I can do anything I want!
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The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.The man declares, I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out.
2 I'm more animal than human; so-called human intelligence escapes me.
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Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man.
3 "I flunked 'wisdom.' I see no evidence of a holy God.
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I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Has anyone ever seen Anyone climb into Heaven and take charge? grab the winds and control them? gather the rains in his bucket? stake out the ends of the earth? Just tell me his name, tell me the names of his sons. Come on now - tell me!"
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Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name? Surely you know!
5 The believer replied, "Every promise of God proves true; he protects everyone who runs to him for help.
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Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 So don't second-guess him; he might take you to task and show up your lies."
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Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
7 And then he prayed, "God, I'm asking for two things before I die; don't refuse me -
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Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die:
8 Banish lies from my lips and liars from my presence. Give me enough food to live on, neither too much nor too little.
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Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 If I'm too full, I might get independent, saying, 'God? Who needs him?' If I'm poor, I might steal and dishonor the name of my God."
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lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the LORD?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
10 Don't blow the whistle on your fellow workers behind their backs; They'll accuse you of being underhanded, and then you'll be the guilty one!
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Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.
11 Don't curse your father or fail to bless your mother.
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There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
12 Don't imagine yourself to be quite presentable when you haven't had a bath in weeks.
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There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth.
13 Don't be stuck-up and think you're better than everyone else.
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There are those--how lofty are their eyes, how high their eyelids lift!
14 Don't be greedy, merciless and cruel as wolves, Tearing into the poor and feasting on them, shredding the needy to pieces only to discard them.
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There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind.
15 A leech has twin daughters named "Gimme" and "Gimme more." Four Insatiables Three things are never satisfied, no, there are four that never say, "That's enough, thank you!" -
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The leech has two daughters: Give and Give. Three things are never satisfied; four never say, "Enough":
16 hell, a barren womb, a parched land, a forest fire.
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Sheol, the barren womb, the land never satisfied with water, and the fire that never says, "Enough."
17 An eye that disdains a father and despises a mother - that eye will be plucked out by wild vultures and consumed by young eagles. Four Mysteries
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The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.
18 Three things amaze me, no, four things I'll never understand -
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Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand:
19 how an eagle flies so high in the sky, how a snake glides over a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, why adolescents act the way they do.
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the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a virgin.
20 Here's how a prostitute operates: she has sex with her client, Takes a bath, then asks, "Who's next?" Four Intolerables
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This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, "I have done no wrong."
21 Three things are too much for even the earth to bear, yes, four things shake its foundations -
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Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot bear up:
22 when the janitor becomes the boss, when a fool gets rich,
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a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is filled with food;
23 when a whore is voted "woman of the year," when a "girlfriend" replaces a faithful wife. Four Small Wonders
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an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
24 There are four small creatures, wisest of the wise they are -
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Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise:
25 ants - frail as they are, get plenty of food in for the winter;
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the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer;
26 marmots - vulnerable as they are, manage to arrange for rock-solid homes;
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the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27 locusts - leaderless insects, yet they strip the field like an army regiment;
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the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank;
28 lizards - easy enough to catch, but they sneak past vigilant palace guards. Four Dignitaries
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the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings' palaces.
29 There are three solemn dignitaries, four that are impressive in their bearing -
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Three things are stately in their tread; four are stately in their stride:
30 a lion, king of the beasts, deferring to none;
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the lion, which is mightiest among beasts and does not turn back before any;
31 a rooster, proud and strutting; a billy goat; a head of state in stately procession.
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the strutting rooster, the he-goat, and a king whose army is with him.
32 If you're dumb enough to call attention to yourself by offending people and making rude gestures,
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If you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or if you have been devising evil, put your hand on your mouth.
33 Don't be surprised if someone bloodies your nose. Churned milk turns into butter; riled emotions turn into fist fights.
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For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood, and pressing anger produces strife.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.