17. The eye that mocks a father And scorns 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 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: