Bible in Basic English
The eye which makes sport of a father, and sees no value in a mother when she is old will be rooted out by the ravens of the valley, and be food for the young eagles.
There are three things, the wonder of which overcomes me, even four things outside my knowledge:
The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a snake on a rock; the way of a ship in the heart of the sea; and the way of a man with a girl.
This is the way of a false wife; she takes food, and, cleaning her mouth, says, I have done no wrong.
For three things the earth is moved, and there are four which it will not put up with:
A servant when he becomes a king; a man without sense when his wealth is increased;
A hated woman when she is married; and a servant-girl who takes the place of her master's wife.
There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are very wise:
The ants are a people not strong, but they put by a store of food in the summer;
The conies are only a feeble people, but they make their houses in the rocks;
The locusts have no king, but they all go out in bands;
You may take the lizard in your hands, but it is in kings' houses.
There are three things whose steps are good to see, even four whose goings are fair:
The lion, which is strongest among beasts, not turning from his way for any;
The war-horse, and the he-goat, and the king when his army is with him.
If you have done foolishly in lifting yourself up, or if you have had evil designs, put your hand over your mouth.
The shaking of milk makes butter, and the twisting of the nose makes blood come: so the forcing of wrath is a cause of fighting.
— Proverbs 30:17-1964, Bible in Basic English
“The eye that mocks at a father and despises obeying a mother– the ravens of the valley will peck it out and the young vultures will eat it. There are three things that are too wonderful for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship in the sea, and the way of a man with a woman. This is the way of an adulterous woman: she has eaten and wiped her mouth and has said,“I have not done wrong.” Under three things the earth has trembled, and under four things it cannot bear up: under a servant who becomes king, under a fool who becomes stuffed with food, under an unloved woman who becomes married, and under a female servant who dispossesses her mistress. There are four things on earth that are small, but they are exceedingly wise: ants are creatures with little strength, but they prepare their food in the summer; rock badgers are creatures with little power, but they make their homes in the crags; locusts have no king, but they all go forward by ranks; a lizard you can catch with the hand, but it gets into the palaces of the king. There are three things that are magnificent in their step, four things that move about magnificently: a lion, mightiest of the beasts, who does not retreat from anything; a strutting rooster, a male goat, and a king with his army around him. If you have done foolishly by exalting yourself or if you have planned evil, put your hand over your mouth! For as the churning of milk produces butter and as punching the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.”
There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, their strong teeth like knives, for the destruction of the poor from the earth, and of those who are in need from among men.
The night-spirit has two daughters, Give, give. There are three things which are never full, even four which never say, Enough:
The underworld, and the woman without a child; the earth which never has enough water, and the fire which never says, Enough.
The eye which makes sport of a father, and sees no value in a mother when she is old will be rooted out by the ravens of the valley, and be food for the young eagles.
There are three things, the wonder of which overcomes me, even four things outside my knowledge:
The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a snake on a rock; the way of a ship in the heart of the sea; and the way of a man with a girl.
This is the way of a false wife; she takes food, and, cleaning her mouth, says, I have done no wrong.
For three things the earth is moved, and there are four which it will not put up with:
A servant when he becomes a king; a man without sense when his wealth is increased;
A hated woman when she is married; and a servant-girl who takes the place of her master's wife.
There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are very wise:
The ants are a people not strong, but they put by a store of food in the summer;
The conies are only a feeble people, but they make their houses in the rocks;
The locusts have no king, but they all go out in bands;
You may take the lizard in your hands, but it is in kings' houses.
There are three things whose steps are good to see, even four whose goings are fair:
The lion, which is strongest among beasts, not turning from his way for any;
The war-horse, and the he-goat, and the king when his army is with him.
If you have done foolishly in lifting yourself up, or if you have had evil designs, put your hand over your mouth.
The shaking of milk makes butter, and the twisting of the nose makes blood come: so the forcing of wrath is a cause of fighting.