The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, from Massa. The man says: I am full of weariness, O God, I am full of weariness; O God, I have come to an end:

I have not got wisdom by teaching, so that I might have the knowledge of the Holy One.

Every word of God is tested: he is a breastplate to those who put their faith in him.

For fear that if I am full, I may be false to you and say, Who is the Lord? or if I am poor, I may become a thief, using the name of my God wrongly.

Do not say evil of a servant to his master, or he will put a curse on you, and you will get into trouble.

There are three things whose steps are good to see, even four whose goings are fair:

The war-horse, and the he-goat, and the king when his army is with him.

She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.

Her children get up and give her honour, and her husband gives her praise, saying,

And I gave my heart to searching out in wisdom all things which are done under heaven: it is a hard thing which God has put on the sons of men to do.

I made a search with my heart to give pleasure to my flesh with wine, still guiding my heart with wisdom, and to go after foolish things, so that I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under the heavens all the days of their life.

I got men-servants and women-servants, and they gave birth to sons and daughters in my house. I had great wealth of herds and flocks, more than all who were in Jerusalem before me.

I got together silver and gold and the wealth of kings and of countries. I got makers of song, male and female; and the delights of the sons of men--girls of all sorts to be my brides.

What does a man get for all his work, and for the weight of care with which he has done his work under the sun?

There is nothing better for a man than taking meat and drink, and having delight in his work. This again I saw was from the hand of God.

To the man with whom he is pleased, God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of getting goods together and storing up wealth, to give to him in whom God has pleasure. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.

A time to take stones away and a time to get stones together; a time for kissing and a time to keep from kissing;

A time for undoing and a time for stitching; a time for keeping quiet and a time for talk;

I saw the work which God has put on the sons of man.

He has made everything right in its time; but he has made their hearts without knowledge, so that man is unable to see the works of God, from the first to the last.

I am certain that there is nothing better for a man than to be glad, and to do good while life is in him.

And for every man to take food and drink, and have joy in all his work, is a reward from God.

I am certain that whatever God does will be for ever. No addition may be made to it, nothing may be taken from it; and God has done it so that man may be in fear before him.

Whatever is has been before, and what is to be is now; because God makes search for the things which are past.

I said in my heart, God will be judge of the good and of the bad; because a time for every purpose and for every work has been fixed by him.

I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, so that God may put them to the test and that they may see themselves as beasts.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their work.

Put your feet down with care when you go to the house of God, for it is better to give ear than to make the burned offerings of the foolish, whose knowledge is only of doing evil.

Be not unwise with your mouth, and let not your heart be quick to say anything before God, because God is in heaven and you are on the earth--so let not the number of your words be great.

When you take an oath before God, put it quickly into effect, because he has no pleasure in the foolish; keep the oath you have taken.

Let not your mouth make your flesh do evil. And say not before the angel, It was an error. So that God may not be angry with your words and put an end to the work of your hands.

Because much talk comes from dreams and things of no purpose. But let the fear of God be in you.

It is good generally for a country where the land is worked to have a king.

This is what I have seen: it is good and fair for a man to take meat and drink and to have joy in all his work under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; that is his reward.

Every man to whom God has given money and wealth and the power to have pleasure in it and to do his part and have joy in his work: this is given by God.

He will not give much thought to the days of his life; because God lets him be taken up with the joy of his heart.

A man to whom God gives money, wealth, and honour so that he has all his desires but God does not give him the power to have joy of it, and a strange man takes it. This is to no purpose and an evil disease.

If a man has a hundred children, and his life is long so that the days of his years are great in number, but his soul takes no pleasure in good, and he is not honoured at his death; I say that a birth before its time is better than he.

And though he goes on living a thousand years twice over and does not see good, are not the two going to the same place?

Who is able to say what is good for man in life all the days of his foolish life which he goes through like a shade? who will say what is to be after him under the sun?

A good name is better than oil of great price, and the day of death than the day of birth.

Wisdom together with a heritage is good, and a profit to those who see the sun.

Give thought to the work of God. Who will make straight what he has made bent?

In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.

These two have I seen in my life which is to no purpose: a good man coming to his end in his righteousness, and an evil man whose days are long in his evil-doing.

It is good to take this in your hand and not to keep your hand from that; he who has the fear of God will be free of the two.

There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days.

And I saw a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is full of tricks and nets, and whose hands are as bands. He with whom God is pleased will get free from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.

Look! this I have seen, said the Preacher, taking one thing after another to get the true account,

This only have I seen, that God made men upright, but they have been searching out all sorts of inventions.

I say to you, Keep the king's law, from respect for the oath of God.

Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his life is long, I am certain that it will be well for those who go in fear of God and are in fear before him.

But it will not be well for the evil-doer; he will not make his days long like a shade, because he has no fear before God.

There is a thing which is to no purpose done on the earth: that there are good men to whom is given the same punishment as those who are evil, and there are evil men who get the reward of the good. I say that this again is to no purpose.

So I gave praise to joy, because there is nothing better for a man to do under the sun than to take meat and drink and be happy; for that will be with him in his work all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

Then I saw all the work of God, and that man may not get knowledge of the work which is done under the sun; because, if a man gives hard work to the search he will not get knowledge, and even if the wise man seems to be coming to the end of his search, still he will be without knowledge.

All this I took to heart, and my heart saw it all: that the upright and the wise and their works are in the hand of God; and men may not be certain if it will be love or hate; all is to no purpose before them.

Because to all there is one event, to the upright man and to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean, to him who makes an offering and to him who makes no offering; as is the good so is the sinner; he who takes an oath is as he who has fear of it.

Come, take your bread with joy, and your wine with a glad heart. God has taken pleasure in your works.

Wisdom is better than instruments of war, but one sinner is the destruction of much good.

If the wrath of the ruler is against you, keep in your place; in him who keeps quiet even great sins may be overlooked.

He who is watching the wind will not get the seed planted, and he who is looking at the clouds will not get in the grain.

As you have no knowledge of the way of the wind, or of the growth of the bones in the body of her who is with child, even so you have no knowledge of the works of God who has made all.

In the morning put your seed into the earth, and till the evening let not your hand be at rest; because you are not certain which will do well, this or that--or if the two will be equally good.

Truly the light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.

Have joy, O young man, while you are young; and let your heart be glad in the days of your strength, and go in the ways of your heart, and in the desire of your eyes; but be certain that for all these things God will be your judge.

Before ever the silver cord is cut, or the vessel of gold is broken, or the pot is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the water-hole;

And the dust goes back to the earth as it was, and the spirit goes back to God who gave it.

This is the last word. All has been said. Have fear of God and keep his laws; because this is right for every man.

God will be judge of every work, with every secret thing, good or evil.

My loved one said to me, Get up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

The fig-tree puts out her green fruit and the vines with their young fruit give a good smell. Get up from your bed, my beautiful one, and come away.

I will get up now and go about the town, in the streets and in the wide ways I will go after him who is the love of my soul: I went after him, but I did not see him.

Your teeth are like a flock of sheep whose wool is newly cut, which come up from the washing; every one has two lambs, and there is not one without young.

Be awake, O north wind; and come, O south, blowing on my garden, so that its spices may come out. Let my loved one come into his garden, and take of his good fruits.

I have put off my coat; how may I put it on? My feet are washed; how may I make them unclean?

I got up to let my loved one in; and my hands were dropping with myrrh, and my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the lock of the door.

My loved one is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to take food in the gardens, and to get lilies.

How beautiful are your feet in their shoes, O king's daughter! The curves of your legs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a good workman:

And the roof of your mouth like good wine flowing down smoothly for my loved one, moving gently over my lips and my teeth.

The mandrakes give out a sweet smell, and at our doors are all sorts of good fruits, new and old, which I have kept for my loved one.

I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers; then was I in his eyes as one to whom good chance had come.

Give ear to the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; let your hearts be turned to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah.

If you will give ear to my word and do it, the good things of the land will be yours;

But a common destruction will overtake sinners and evil-doers together, and those who have gone away from the Lord will be cut off.

And the peoples will say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: and he will give us knowledge of his ways, and we will be guided by his word; for out of Zion the law will go out, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Cursed are those who get up early in the morning to give themselves up to strong drink; who keep on drinking far into the night till they are heated with wine!

But the Lord of armies is lifted up as judge, and the Holy God is seen to be holy in righteousness.

Then the lambs will get food as in their grass-lands, and the fat cattle will be feasting in the waste places.

Cursed are those who give the name of good to evil, and of evil to what is good: who make light dark, and dark light: who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter!

And even if there is still a tenth part in it, it will again be burned, like a tree of the woods whose broken end is still in the earth after the tree has been cut down (the holy seed is the broken end).

And say to him, Take care and be quiet; have no fear, and do not let your heart be feeble, because of these two ends of smoking fire-wood, because of the bitter wrath of Rezin and Aram, and of the son of Remaliah.

This is the word of the Lord God: This design will not come about or be effected.

Make a request to the Lord your God for a sign, a sign in the deep places of the underworld, or in the high heavens.

And he said, Give ear now, O family of David: is it not enough that you are driving men to disgust? will you do the same to my God?

Butter and honey will be his food, when he is old enough to make a decision between evil and good.

For before the child is old enough to make a decision between evil and good, the land whose two kings you are now fearing will have become waste.

In that day will the Lord take away the hair of the head and of the feet, as well as the hair of the face, with a blade got for a price from the other side of the River; even with the king of Assyria.

And it will come on into Judah; rushing on and overflowing, till the waters are up to the neck; *** and his outstretched wings will be covering the land from side to side: for God is with us.

Let your designs be formed, and they will come to nothing; give your orders, and they will not be effected: for God is with us.