Four Things That Are Little and Wise
15 “The leech has two daughters: ‘Give, give.’ “There are three things that are never satisfied; four that don’t say, ‘Enough!’: 16 Sheol, the barren womb, the earth that is not satisfied with water, and the fire that doesn’t say, ‘Enough!’ 17 “The eye that mocks at his father, and scorns obedience to his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, the young eagles shall eat it. 18 “There are three things which are too amazing for me, four which I don’t understand: 19 The way of an eagle in the air, 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 maiden. 20 “So is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’ 21 “For three things the earth trembles, and under four, it can’t bear up: 22 For a servant when he is king, a fool when he is filled with food, 23 for an unloved woman when she is married, and a servant who is heir to her mistress. 24 “There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise: 25 The ants are not a strong people, yet they provide their food in the summer. 26 The hyraxes are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks. 27 The locusts have no king, yet they advance in ranks. 28 You can catch a lizard with your hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces. 29 “There are three things which are stately in their march, four which are stately in going: 30 The lion, which is mightiest among animals, and doesn’t turn away for any; 31 the greyhound; the male goat; and the king against whom there is no rising up. 32 “If you have done foolishly in lifting up yourself, or if you have thought evil, put your hand over your mouth. 33 For as the churning of milk produces butter, and the wringing of the nose produces blood, so the forcing of wrath produces strife.”
Agur counts things in threes and fours, and his best list is of small creatures that manage without any of the advantages.
The rest of the chapter is built on a counting formula — three things... four — which announces a list and then adds one more than promised. The effect is that the last item always lands hardest.
The first list is of appetites that never close: the grave, the barren womb, dry ground, and fire. Each takes whatever is given and is exactly as empty afterward. Then a list of things too wonderful to understand, and the fourth is the one the others were arranged around. The way of an eagle in the air, a serpent on a rock, a ship in the sea, and the way of a man with a maiden. Three things that leave no track, and then attraction between two people, classed with them as beyond following.
The verse immediately after is placed there deliberately: the adulterous woman who eats and wipes her mouth, and says, 'I have done nothing wrong.' It is the same gesture anyone makes after a meal, performed to make a thing that happened look like a thing that did not.
The best list is of four small creatures, and the point of each is a missing advantage. The ants are not a strong people, and provide their food in summer. The hyraxes are a feeble folk, and make their houses in the rocks. The locusts have no king, and advance in ranks. The lizard can be caught in the hand, yet it is in kings' palaces. No strength, no power, no leader, no status. And each one is described as exceedingly wise. What the list praises is not ability but the intelligent use of what little there is. The small creature that ends up in a palace is a joke with a serious edge.
The chapter ends with a piece of physics turned into counsel: For as the churning of milk produces butter, and the wringing of the nose produces blood, so the forcing of wrath produces strife. Three processes, all the same shape. Sustained pressure on something produces a predictable result, every time. The man applying it does not get to be surprised. The instruction that precedes it is the only remedy offered: put your hand over your mouth.
settled What this mark means