The Message Bible MSG
King James Version KJV
1 The skeptic swore, "There is no God! No God! - I can do anything I want!
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The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
2 I'm more animal than human; so-called human intelligence escapes me.
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Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.
3 "I flunked 'wisdom.' I see no evidence of a holy God.
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I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.
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 hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
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 is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
6 So don't second-guess him; he might take you to task and show up your lies."
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Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou 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 have I required of thee; deny me them not 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 vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient 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 thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
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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Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
11 Don't curse your father or fail to bless your mother.
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There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
12 Don't imagine yourself to be quite presentable when you haven't had a bath in weeks.
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There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
13 Don't be stuck-up and think you're better than everyone else.
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There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
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 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.
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 horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
16 hell, a barren womb, a parched land, a forest fire.
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The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is 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 mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.
18 Three things amaze me, no, four things I'll never understand -
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There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
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 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 maid.
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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Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
21 Three things are too much for even the earth to bear, yes, four things shake its foundations -
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For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:
22 when the janitor becomes the boss, when a fool gets rich,
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For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;
23 when a whore is voted "woman of the year," when a "girlfriend" replaces a faithful wife. Four Small Wonders
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For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
24 There are four small creatures, wisest of the wise they are -
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There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding 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 prepare their meat in the summer;
26 marmots - vulnerable as they are, manage to arrange for rock-solid homes;
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The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
27 locusts - leaderless insects, yet they strip the field like an army regiment;
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The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
28 lizards - easy enough to catch, but they sneak past vigilant palace guards. Four Dignitaries
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The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.
29 There are three solemn dignitaries, four that are impressive in their bearing -
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There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:
30 a lion, king of the beasts, deferring to none;
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A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
31 a rooster, proud and strutting; a billy goat; a head of state in stately procession.
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A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
32 If you're dumb enough to call attention to yourself by offending people and making rude gestures,
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If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy 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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Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth 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 King James Version is in the public domain.