Daily Bread: Sunday, Apr 14, 2024

¹¹ “There are those who curse their fathers
    and do not bless their mothers;^(A)
12 those who are pure in their own eyes^(B)
    and yet are not cleansed of their filth;^(C)
13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty,^(D)
    whose glances are so disdainful;
¹⁴ those whose teeth^(E) are swords
    and whose jaws are set with knives^(F)
to devour^(G) the poor^(H) from the earth
    and the needy from among mankind.^(I)

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

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

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

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.’^(N)

²¹ “Under three things the earth trembles,
    under four it cannot bear up:
²² a servant who becomes king,^(O)
    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;^(P)
26 hyraxes^(Q) are creatures of little power,
    yet they make their home in the crags;
²⁷ locusts^(R) 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.^[a]

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