proverbs 箴言30

30The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh-an oracle¹ : This man declared to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ucal:
2"I am the most ignorant of men; I do not have a man's understanding.
3I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
4Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? Tell me if you know!
5"Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke² you and prove you a liar³.
7"Two things I ask of you, O Lord ; do not refuse me before I die:
8Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
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 slander⁴ 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 cleansed⁵ of their filth⁶;
13those whose eyes are ever so haughty⁷, whose glances are so disdainful;
14those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws⁸ are set with knives to devour⁹ the poor from the earth, the needy¹⁰ from among mankind.
15"The leech¹¹ has two daughters. 'Give! Give!' they cry. "There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, 'Enough!':
16the grave, 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 obedience¹² to a mother, will be pecked out by the ravens¹³ 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 maiden¹⁴.
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 are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags;
27locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks;
28a lizard¹⁵ 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, mighty¹⁶ among beasts, who retreats before nothing;
31a strutting¹⁷ rooster, a he-goat, and a king with his army around him.
32"If you have played the fool and exalted¹⁸ 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 strife¹⁹."

1 oracle   

n.神谕，神谕处，预言

参考例句：

• In times of difficulty,she pray for an oracle to guide her.在困难的时候，她祈祷神谕来指引她。
• It is a kind of oracle that often foretells things most important.它是一种内生性神谕，常常能预言最重要的事情。

2 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

3 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

4 slander   

n./v.诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• The article is a slander on ordinary working people.那篇文章是对普通劳动大众的诋毁。
• He threatened to go public with the slander.他威胁要把丑闻宣扬出去。

5 cleansed   

弄干净，清洗( cleanse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The nurse cleansed the wound before stitching it. 护士先把伤口弄干净后才把它缝合。
• The notorious Hell Row was burned down in a fire, and much dirt was cleansed away. 臭名远场的阎王路已在一场大火中化为乌有，许多焦土灰烬被清除一空。

6 filth   

n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥

参考例句：

• I don't know how you can read such filth.我不明白你怎么会去读这种淫秽下流的东西。
• The dialogue was all filth and innuendo.这段对话全是下流的言辞和影射。

7 haughty   

adj.傲慢的，高傲的

参考例句：

• He gave me a haughty look and walked away.他向我摆出傲慢的表情后走开。
• They were displeased with her haughty airs.他们讨厌她高傲的派头。

8 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

9 devour   

v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷

参考例句：

• Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
• Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵，终会被皱纹所吞噬。

10 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

11 leech   

n.水蛭，吸血鬼，榨取他人利益的人；vt.以水蛭吸血；vi.依附于别人

参考例句：

• A leech is a small blood-sucking worm and usually lives in water.水蛭是一种小型吸血虫，通常生活在水中。
• One-side love like a greedy leech absorbed my time and my mirth.单相思如同一只贪婪的水蛭，吸走了我的时间和欢笑。

12 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

13 ravens   

n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wheresoever the carcase is,there will the ravens be gathered together. 哪里有死尸，哪里就有乌鸦麇集。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A couple of ravens croaked above our boat. 两只乌鸦在我们小船的上空嘎嘎叫着。 来自辞典例句

14 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

15 lizard   

n.蜥蜴，壁虎

参考例句：

• A chameleon is a kind of lizard.变色龙是一种蜥蜴。
• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect.蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。

16 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

17 strutting   

加固，支撑物

参考例句：

• He, too, was exceedingly arrogant, strutting about the castle. 他也是非常自大，在城堡里大摇大摆地走。
• The pompous lecturer is strutting and forth across the stage. 这个演讲者在台上趾高气扬地来回走着。

18 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

19 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。