Poetry

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Sayings of Agur

1 The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh—an oracle [a] :
This man declared to Ithiel,
to Ithiel and to Ucal: [b]

Agur has an oracle, a sort of prophecy
That he is declaring for all to see,
But it is directed to these specific two;
Ithiel and Ucal, friends loyal and true.

2 "I am the most ignorant of men;
I do not have a man's understanding.

His humility is rare and quite significant,
For he declares himself the most ignorant.
In understanding he admits he is quite lacking,
And any university would sure send him packing.

3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.

Wisdom is something he just never learned,
Though he may even have a Phd he has earned.
He is even here willing to honestly admit
He has no degree on knowing God to submit.


4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands?
Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and the name of his son?
Tell me if you know!

Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Such a question just leaves his face with a frown.

Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of his hands?
Such a question confuses as the mystery expands.

Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak?
Every human answer is just blowing smoke.

Who has established all the ends of the earth?
Without God, every answer of man's of no worth.

What is his name, and the name of his son?
Answer this right and all mystery is done.

Tell me if you know!
Better yet, let me show.

5 "Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Flawless is God's every word;
Purer words you've never heard.
When this precious word you wield
You have life's most valued shield.

6 Do not add to his words,
or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

It is presumption to add to God's words,
But such is the folly of some now called nerds.
The Lord will come nigh, and in rebuke will come nigher,
And label every such person as just wrong and a liar.


7 "Two things I ask of you, O LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:

O Lord, just two things I ask of you:
These two things you can make come true.
Please here me as I earnestly cry,
Do not refuse me before I die.

8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.

Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
Keep them so distant I won't even see.
Then make me neither wealthy nor poor,
Just give what I daily need, and no more.

9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, 'Who is the LORD ?'
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.

If you give me too much, I might think I don't need you,
And stop seeking your word and its wisdom give heed to.
If you give me too little, I might get tempted to steal,
And dishonor your name like a fool and a heel.

10 "Do not slander a servant to his master,
or he will curse you, and you will pay for it.

Unless it is evil and curses your after,
Don't slander a servant to his master.
You will come to regret it by the end of the day,
And in the long run, it is you who will pay.

11 "There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers;

Can those who curse fathers really be true?
Just what more evil could any man do?
Believe it or not, more evil is another;
That man who refuses to bless his dear mother.

12 those who are pure in their own eyes
and yet are not cleansed of their filth;

Those who are pure in their own eyes
Await a judgment day of shocking surprise.
They will see their soul as black within
For they have never been cleansed from sin.

13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty,
whose glances are so disdainful;

Proud are those persons with eyes ever so haughty,
Looking down on others assuming them naughty.
In their proud self image their glances are disdainful,
Making others feel emotions that truly are painful.

14 those whose teeth are swords
and whose jaws are set with knives
to devour the poor from the earth,
the needy from among mankind.

Those are very hurtful people with their teeth,
For they are like weapons with their jaws beneath.
Their sharp words cut like knives, devouring the poor,
Lacking all compassion, they push them right out the door.


15 "The leech has two daughters.
'Give! Give!' they cry.
"There are three things that are never satisfied,
four that never say, 'Enough!':

These two daughters are ever so greedy,
They never are satisfied, but always needy.
Their cry will be as long as they live,
I just want more, so give me, just give!

I am sure you will see I am justified,
In saying these things are never satisfied.
At first I had three, but then came to four,
The things that never stop crying for more.


16 the grave, [c] the barren womb,
land, which is never satisfied with water,
and fire, which never says, 'Enough!'

The grave, or empty tomb,
The woman's barren womb,
The water thirsty land,
Raging fire out of hand,
None will the word enough command!

17 "The eye that mocks a father,
that scorns obedience to a mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
will be eaten by the vultures.

That eye is facing double trouble
That mocks its mom and dad,
For his future will burst like a bubble
With the worst nightmare ever had.
It will live to see that most horrible day
To be pecked out and devoured by birds of prey.

18 "There are three things that are too amazing for me,
four that I do not understand:

There are three things too amazing for me,
Rather, there are four that I now see.
These are things that are truly grand,
But they are things I don't understand.

19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a maiden.

The first thing that makes me ask why
Is the way of the eagle high in the sky.
Another that I see when I go for a walk
Is the way of a snake I see on a rock.
Another of these life mysteries
Is the way of a ship on the high seas.
Finally, I am amazed more than I've ever been
By the way of a man with his sweet maiden.

20 "This is the way of an adulteress:
She eats and wipes her mouth
and says, 'I've done nothing wrong.'

The adulteress goes forth to satisfy lust.
She has her fill and then says it is just.
She's like all who justify their sin with this song,
Don't look down on me, I've done nothing wrong.

21 "Under three things the earth trembles,
under four it cannot bear up:

There are three things that make the earth tremble,
No, wait, there are really four that I want to assemble

22 a servant who becomes king,
a fool who is full of food,

It seem out of order, and a very strange thing,
When a lowly servant becomes a great king.
And a fool full of food will spoil any mood,
His mouth will keep saying things that are rude.

23 an unloved woman who is married,
and a maidservant who displaces her mistress.

An unloved woman who is married,
Lives a life both lonely and harried,
And a servant girl who takes over and reigns
Lives a life with many potential pains.

24 "Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:

Four things on earth are small indeed,
But small things can be just great seed.
Like the seed, it is planted to rise,
And little things can be extremely wise.

25 Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer;

Never underestimate the ant,
For they do what you assume they can't.
They store up food for the summer,
And don't wait too late and say its a bummer.

26 coneys [d] are creatures of little power,
yet they make their home in the crags;

Coneys are small, and have little power,
But somewhere at this very hour
They are building there home in places so hard,
With just one glance, you would discard.

27 locusts have no king,
yet they advance together in ranks;

Locusts, its true, have no king,
But kings are not the only thing,
For these creatures still can bind,
And move together as if with one mind.

28 a lizard can be caught with the hand,
yet it is found in kings' palaces.

A lizard can be caught with the hand,
But here is something you must understand,
It is a lowly creature, found among lowly things,
But it can also be found in the palaces of kings.

29 "There are three things that are stately in their stride,
four that move with stately bearing:

There are three things stately in their stride
They seem to have everything supporting their pride.
Actually there are four moving with stately bearing,
And each of their characteristics below I'll be sharing.

30 a lion, mighty among beasts,
who retreats before nothing;

A lion, who is mighty among beasts,
Who on much bigger animals he feasts.
He is so noble, and he does many feats,
And there is no enemy from which he retreats.

31 a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
and a king with his army around him.

A strutting rooster before all his hens,
A message of pride this strutting bird sends.
The he-goat in pride leads forward the flock,
And none dare his role as leader to mock.
And the king in his royal prideful array,
With army around him will sure win the day.

32 "If you have played the fool and exalted yourself,
or if you have planned evil,
clap your hand over your mouth!

If you like these creatures have exalted yourself,
It time to step down from that most lofty shelf.
And if your morality has started heading south,
It is time to clap your hand over your mouth.

33 For as churning the milk produces butter,
and as twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife."

For nothing I say, and no words that I utter,
Could say it more clearly than churning makes butter,
Or as twisting the nose will produce blood
Stirring up anger will bring strife like a flood.

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