9Otherwise, 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.

10“Do not slander a servant to his master,

or he will curse you, and you will pay for it.

11“There are those who curse their fathers

and do not bless their mothers;

12those who are pure in their own eyes

and yet are not cleansed of their filth;

13those whose eyes are ever so haughty,

whose glances are so disdainful;

14those whose teeth are swords

and whose jaws are set with knives

to devour the poor from the earth,

the needy from among mankind.

15“The leech has two daughters.

‘Give! Give!’ they cry.

“There are three things that are never satisfied,

four that never say, ‘Enough!’:

16the grave,^c the barren womb,

land, which is never satisfied with water,

and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

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.

18“There are three things that are too amazing for me,

four that I do not understand:

19the 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.

20“This is the way of an adulteress:

She eats and wipes her mouth

and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’

21“Under three things the earth trembles,

under four it cannot bear up:

22a servant who becomes king,

a fool who is full of food,

23an unloved woman who is married,

and a maidservant who displaces her mistress.

24“Four things on earth are small,

yet they are extremely wise:

25Ants are creatures of little strength,

yet they store up their food in the summer;

26coneys^d are creatures of little power,

yet they make their home in the crags;

27locusts have no king,

yet they advance together in ranks;

28a 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:

30a lion, mighty among beasts,

who retreats before nothing;

31a strutting rooster, a he-goat,

and a king with his army around him.^e

32“If you have played the fool and exalted yourself,

or if you have planned evil,

clap your hand over your mouth!

33For as churning the milk produces butter,

and as twisting the nose produces blood,

so stirring up anger produces strife.”