This man’s utterance to Ithiel:

“I am weary, God,
    but I can prevail.^[a]
2 Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
    I do not have human understanding.
³ I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.^(B)
4 Who has gone up^(C) to heaven and come down?
    Whose hands^(D) have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters^(E) in a cloak?^(F)
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name,^(G) and what is the name of his son?
    Surely you know!

⁵ “Every word of God is flawless;^(H)
    he is a shield^(I) to those who take refuge in him.
⁶ Do not add^(J) to his words,
    or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

⁷ “Two things I ask of you, Lord;
    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.^(K)
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown^(L) you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’^(M)
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonor the name of my God.^(N)

¹⁰ “Do not slander a servant to their master,
    or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

¹¹ “There are those who curse their fathers
    and do not bless their mothers;^(O)
12 those who are pure in their own eyes^(P)
    and yet are not cleansed of their filth;^(Q)
13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty,^(R)
    whose glances are so disdainful;
¹⁴ those whose teeth^(S) are swords
    and whose jaws are set with knives^(T)
to devour^(U) the poor^(V) from the earth
    and the needy from among mankind.^(W)

¹⁵ “The leech has two daughters.
    ‘Give! Give!’ they cry.

“There are three things that are never satisfied,^(X)
    four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
¹⁶ the grave,^(Y) the barren womb,
    land, which is never satisfied with water,
    and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

¹⁷ “The eye that mocks^(Z) a father,
    that scorns an aged mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
    will be eaten by the vultures.^(AA)

¹⁸ “There are three things that are too amazing for me,
    four that I do not 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 young woman.

²⁰ “This is the way of an adulterous woman:
    She eats and wipes her mouth
    and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’^(AB)

²¹ “Under three things the earth trembles,
    under four it cannot bear up:
²² a servant who becomes king,^(AC)
    a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
²³ a contemptible woman who gets married,
    and a servant who displaces her mistress.

²⁴ “Four things on earth are small,
    yet they are extremely wise:
²⁵ Ants are creatures of little strength,
    yet they store up their food in the summer;^(AD)
26 hyraxes^(AE) are creatures of little power,
    yet they make their home in the crags;
²⁷ locusts^(AF) have no king,
    yet they advance together in ranks;
²⁸ a lizard can be caught with the hand,
    yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

²⁹ “There are three things that are stately in their stride,
    four that move with stately bearing:
³⁰ a lion, mighty among beasts,
    who retreats before nothing;
³¹ a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
    and a king secure against revolt.^[b]

³² “If you play the fool and exalt yourself,
    or if you plan evil,
    clap your hand over your mouth!^(AG)
33 For as churning cream produces butter,
    and as twisting the nose produces blood,
    so stirring up anger produces strife.”

² Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
    Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!^(AI)
3 Do not spend your strength^[c] on women,
    your vigor on those who ruin kings.^(AJ)

⁴ It is not for kings, Lemuel—
    it is not for kings to drink wine,^(AK)
    not for rulers to crave beer,
⁵ lest they drink^(AL) and forget what has been decreed,^(AM)
    and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
⁶ Let beer be for those who are perishing,
    wine^(AN) for those who are in anguish!
⁷ Let them drink^(AO) and forget their poverty
    and remember their misery no more.

⁸ Speak^(AP) up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
    for the rights of all who are destitute.
⁹ Speak up and judge fairly;
    defend the rights of the poor and needy.^(AQ)

⁴ For the word of the Lord is right^(H) and true;^(I)
    he is faithful^(J) in all he does.
⁵ The Lord loves righteousness and justice;^(K)
    the earth is full of his unfailing love.^(L)

⁶ By the word^(M) of the Lord the heavens were made,^(N)
    their starry host^(O) by the breath of his mouth.
⁷ He gathers the waters^(P) of the sea into jars^[a];^(Q)
    he puts the deep into storehouses.
⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord;^(R)
    let all the people of the world^(S) revere him.^(T)
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
    he commanded,^(U) and it stood firm.

¹⁰ The Lord foils^(V) the plans^(W) of the nations;^(X)
    he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
¹¹ But the plans of the Lord stand firm^(Y) forever,
    the purposes^(Z) of his heart through all generations.

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,^(AA)
    the people he chose^(AB) for his inheritance.^(AC)
13 From heaven the Lord looks down^(AD)
    and sees all mankind;^(AE)
14 from his dwelling place^(AF) he watches
    all who live on earth—
¹⁵ he who forms^(AG) the hearts of all,
    who considers everything they do.^(AH)

¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army;^(AI)
    no warrior escapes by his great strength.
¹⁷ A horse^(AJ) is a vain hope for deliverance;
    despite all its great strength it cannot save.
¹⁸ But the eyes^(AK) of the Lord are on those who fear him,
    on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,^(AL)
19 to deliver them from death^(AM)
    and keep them alive in famine.^(AN)

²⁰ We wait^(AO) in hope for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,^(AP)
    for we trust in his holy name.^(AQ)
22 May your unfailing love^(AR) be with us, Lord,
    even as we put our hope in you.