14. There is a generation whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, devouring the oppressed from the land and the needy from among mankind.
15. The leech has two daughters: “Give, Give!”Three things are never satisfied;four never say, “Enough! ”:
16. Sheol; a childless womb; earth, which is never satisfied with water;and fire, which never says, “Enough! ”
17. As for the eye that ridicules a father and despises obedience to a mother,may ravens of the valley pluck it outand young vultures eat it.
18. Three things are beyond me;four I can’t understand:
19. the way of an eagle in the sky,the way of a snake on a rock,the way of a ship at sea,and the way of a man with a young woman.
20. This is the way of an adulteress:she eats and wipes her mouthand says, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”
21. The earth trembles under three things;it cannot bear up under four:
22. a servant when he becomes king, a fool when he is stuffed with food,
23. an unloved woman when she marries, and a servant girl when she ousts her queen.
24. Four things on earth are small,yet they are extremely wise:
25. the ants are not a strong people,yet they store up their food in the summer;
26. hyraxes are not a mighty people,yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27. locusts have no king,yet all of them march in ranks;
28. a lizard can be caught in your hands,yet it lives in kings’ palaces.
29. Three things are stately in their stride,even four are stately in their walk:
30. a lion, which is mightiest among beastsand doesn’t retreat before anything,
31. a strutting rooster, a goat,and a king at the head of his army.
32. If you have been foolish by exalting yourselfor if you’ve been scheming,put your hand over your mouth.
33. For the churning of milk produces butter,and twisting a nose draws blood,and stirring up anger produces strife.