301 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh , the oracle . The man declares to Ithiel , to Ithiel and Ucal : 2 Surely I am more stupid than any man , And I do not have the understanding of a man . 3 Neither have I learned wisdom , Nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy One . 4 Who has ascended into heaven and descended ? Who has gathered the wind in His fists ? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment ? Who has established all the ends of the earth ? What is His name or His son's name ? Surely you know ! 5 Every word of God is tested ; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. 6 Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar .
7 Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die : 8 Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches ; Feed me with the food that is my portion , 9 That I not be full and deny You and say , "Who is the Lord ?" Or that I not be in want and steal , And profane the name of my God .
10 Do not slander a slave to his master , Or he will curse you and you will be found guilty . 11 There is a kind of man who curses his father And does not bless his mother . 12 There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes , Yet is not washed from his filthiness . 13 There is a kind -oh how lofty are his eyes ! And his eyelids are raised in arrogance. 14 There is a kind of man whose teeth are like swords And his jaw teeth like knives , To devour the afflicted from the earth And the needy from among men .
15 The leech has two daughters , "Give ," "Give ." There are three things that will not be satisfied , Four that will not say , "Enough ": 16 Sheol , and the barren womb , Earth that is never satisfied with water , And fire that never says , "Enough ." 17 The eye that mocks a father And scorns e a mother , The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.
18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand : 19 The way of an eagle in the sky , The way of a serpent on a rock , The way of a ship in the middle of the sea , And the way of a man with a maid . 20 This is the way of an adulterous woman : She eats and wipes her mouth , And says , "I have done no wrong ." 21 Under three things the earth quakes , And under four , it cannot e bear up: 22 Under a slave when he becomes king , And a fool when he is satisfied with food , 23 Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband , And a maidservant when she supplants her mistress .
24 Four things are small on the earth , But they are exceedingly wise : 25 The ants are not a strong people , But they prepare their food in the summer ; 26 The shephanim are not mighty people , Yet they make their houses in the rocks ; 27 The locusts have no king , Yet all of them go out in ranks ; 28 The lizard you may grasp with the hands , Yet it is in kings' palaces .
29 There are three things which are stately in their march , Even four which are stately when they walk : 30 The lion which is mighty among beasts And does not retreat before e any , 31 The strutting e rooster , the male goat also , And a king when his army is with him. 32 If you have been foolish in exalting yourself Or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth . 33 For the churning of milk produces butter , And pressing the nose brings forth blood ; So the churning of anger produces strife .
311 The words of King Lemuel , the oracle which his mother taught him: 2 What , O my son ? And what , O son of my womb ? And what , O son of my vows ? 3 Do not give your strength to women , Or your ways to that which destroys kings . 4 It is not for kings , O Lemuel , It is not for kings to drink wine , Or for rulers to desire strong drink , 5 For they will drink and forget what is decreed , And pervert the rights of all the afflicted . 6 Give strong drink to him who is perishing , And wine to him whose life is bitter . 7 Let him drink and forget his poverty And remember his trouble no more . 8 Open your mouth for the mute , For the rights of all the unfortunate e . 9 Open your mouth , judge righteously , And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy .
10 An excellent wife , who can find ? For her worth is far above jewels . 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain . 12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life . 13 She looks for wool and flax And works with her hands in delight . 14 She is like merchant ships ; She brings her food from afar . 15 She rises also while it is still night And gives food to her household And portions to her maidens . 16 She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings e she plants a vineyard . 17 She girds herself with strength And makes her arms strong . 18 She senses that her gain is good ; Her lamp does not go out at night . 19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff , And her hands grasp the spindle . 20 She extends her hand to the poor , And she stretches out her hands to the needy . 21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household , For all her household are clothed with scarlet . 22 She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple . 23 Her husband is known in the gates , When he sits among the elders of the land . 24 She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen . 25 Strength and dignity are her clothing , And she smiles at the future e . 26 She opens her mouth in wisdom , And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue . 27 She looks well to the ways of her household , And does not eat the bread of idleness . 28 Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: 29 "Many daughters have done nobly , But you excel them all ." 30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain , But a woman who fears the Lord , she shall be praised . 31 Give her the product of her hands , And let her works praise her in the gates .
111 I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness ; but indeed you are bearing with me. 2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy ; for I betrothed you to one husband , so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin . 3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness , your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ . 4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached , or you receive a different spirit which you have not received , or a different gospel which you have not accepted , you bear this beautifully .
5 For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles . 6 But even if I am unskilled in speech , yet I am not so in knowledge ; in fact , in every way we have made this evident to you in all things . 7 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted , because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge ? 8 I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you; 9 and when I was present with you and was in need , I was not a burden to anyone ; for when the brethren came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need , and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine e will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia . 11 Why e ? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! 12 But what I am doing I will continue to do , so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting . 13 For such men are false apostles , deceitful workers , disguising themselves as apostles of Christ . 14 No wonder , for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light . 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness , whose end will be according to their deeds .
(Read 2 Corinthians 11:1-4)
The apostle desired to preserve the Corinthians from being corrupted by the false apostles. There is but one Jesus, one Spirit, and one gospel, to be preached to them, and received by them; and why should any be prejudiced, by the devices of an adversary, against him who first taught them in faith? They should not listen to men, who, without cause, would draw them away from those who were the means of their conversion.
(Read 2 Corinthians 11:5-15)
It is far better to be plain in speech, yet walking openly and consistently with the gospel, than to be admired by thousands, and be lifted up in pride, so as to disgrace the gospel by evil tempers and unholy lives. The apostle would not give room for any to accuse him of worldly designs in preaching the gospel, that others who opposed him at Corinth, might not in this respect gain advantage against him. Hypocrisy may be looked for, especially when we consider the great power which Satan, who rules in the hearts of the children of disobedience, has upon the minds of many. And as there are temptations to evil conduct, so there is equal danger on the other side. It serves Satan's purposes as well, to set up good works against the atonement of Christ, and salvation by faith and grace. But the end will discover those who are deceitful workers; their work will end in ruin. Satan will allow his ministers to preach either the law or the gospel separately; but the law as established by faith in Christ's righteousness and atonement, and the partaking of his Spirit, is the test of every false system.
