The Words of King Lemuel

31 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:

2  What are you doing, my son?1 What are you doing, fson of my womb?

What are you doing, gson of my vows?

3  Do hnot give your strength to women,

your ways to those iwho destroy kings.

4  jIt is not for kings, O Lemuel,

it is not for kings kto drink wine,

or for rulers to take lstrong drink,

5  lest they drink and forget what has been decreed

and mpervert the rights of all the afflicted.

6  Give strong drink to the one who nis perishing,

and wine to othose in bitter distress;2

7  plet them drink and forget their poverty

and remember their misery no more.

8  qOpen your mouth for the mute,

for the rights of all who are destitute.3

9  Open your mouth, rjudge righteously,

sdefend the rights of tthe poor and needy.

The Woman Who Fears the Lord

10  4 uAn excellent wife who can find?

She is far more precious than vjewels.

11  The heart of her husband trusts in her,

and he will have no lack of gain.

12  She does him good, and not harm,

all the days of her life.

13  She wseeks wool and flax,

and works with willing hands.

14  She is like the ships of the merchant;

she brings her food from afar.

15  She xrises while it is yet night

and yprovides food for her household

and portions for her maidens.

16  She considers a field and buys it;

with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

17  She zdresses herself5 with strength

and makes her arms strong.

18  She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.

Her lamp does not go out at night.

19  She puts her hands to the distaff,

and her hands hold the spindle.

20  She aopens her hand to bthe poor

and reaches out her hands to bthe needy.

21  She is not afraid of snow for her household,

for all her household are clothed in cscarlet.6

22  She makes dbed coverings for herself;

her clothing is efine linen and fpurple.

23  Her husband is known in gthe gates

when he sits among the elders of the land.

24  She makes hlinen garments and sells them;

she delivers sashes to the merchant.

25  iStrength and dignity are her clothing,

and she laughs at the time to come.

26  She opens her mouth with wisdom,

and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

27  She looks well to the ways of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28  Her children rise up and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

29  “Many jwomen have done kexcellently,

but you surpass them all.”

30  lCharm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

31  Give her of the fruit of her hands,

and let her works praise her in the gates.

19 aBetter is a poor person who bwalks in his integrity

than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.

2  Desire1 without knowledge is not good,

and whoever cmakes haste with his feet misses his way.

3  When a man’s folly dbrings his way to ruin,

his heart erages against the Lord.

4  fWealth brings many new friends,

fbut a poor man is deserted by his friend.

5  gA false witness will not go unpunished,

and he who hbreathes out lies will not escape.

6  Many seek the favor of a generous man,2

and everyone is a friend to a man who gives igifts.

7  jAll a poor man’s brothers hate him;

khow much more do his friends go far from him!

He pursues them with words, but does not have them.3

8  lWhoever gets sense loves his own soul;

he who keeps understanding will mdiscover good.

9  gA false witness will not go unpunished,

and he who hbreathes out lies will perish.

10  nIt is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury,

much less for oa slave to rule over princes.

11  pGood sense makes one slow to anger,

and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

12  A king’s wrath is like qthe growling of a lion,

but his rfavor is like sdew on the grass.

13  tA foolish son is ruin to his father,

and ua wife’s quarreling is va continual dripping of rain.

14  wHouse and wealth are inherited from fathers,

but a prudent wife is xfrom the Lord.

15  ySlothfulness casts into za deep sleep,

and aan idle person will suffer hunger.

16  Whoever bkeeps the commandment keeps his life;

he who despises his ways will die.

17  cWhoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord,

and he dwill repay him for his edeed.

18  fDiscipline your son, for there is hope;

do not set your heart on gputting him to death.

19  A man of great wrath will pay the penalty,

for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.

20  Listen to advice and accept instruction,

that you may gain wisdom in hthe future.

21  iMany are the plans in the mind of a man,

but jit is the purpose of the Lord kthat will stand.

22  What is desired in a man is steadfast love,

and a poor man is better than a liar.

23  The fear of the Lord lleads to life,

and whoever has it rests msatisfied;

he will nnot be visited by harm.

24  oThe sluggard buries his hand in pthe dish

and will not even bring it back to his mouth.

25  qStrike ra scoffer, and the simple will slearn prudence;

treprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.

26  He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother

is ua son who brings shame and reproach.

27  Cease to hear instruction, my son,

vand you will stray from the words of knowledge.

28  A worthless witness mocks at justice,

and the mouth of the wicked wdevours iniquity.

29  Condemnation is ready for rscoffers,

and xbeating for the backs of fools.

20 yWine is a mocker, zstrong drink a brawler,

and whoever ais led astray by it is not wise.1

2  The terror of a king is like bthe growling of a lion;

whoever provokes him to anger cforfeits his life.

3  It is an honor for a man to dkeep aloof from strife,

but every fool will be quarreling.

4  eThe sluggard does not plow in the autumn;

fhe will seek at harvest and have nothing.

5  The purpose in a man’s heart is like gdeep water,

but a man of understanding will draw it out.

6  Many a man hproclaims his own steadfast love,

but ia faithful man who can find?

7  The righteous who jwalks in his integrity—

kblessed are his children after him!

8  lA king who sits on the throne of judgment

mwinnows all evil with his eyes.

9  nWho can say, “I have made my heart pure;

I am clean from my sin”?

10  oUnequal2 weights and unequal measures

are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

11  Even a child pmakes himself known by his acts,

by whether his conduct is pure and upright.3

12  qThe hearing ear and the seeing eye,

rthe Lord has made them both.

13  sLove not sleep, lest you tcome to poverty;

open your eyes, and you will have uplenty of bread.

14  “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,

but when he goes away, then he boasts.

15  There is gold and abundance of vcostly stones,

wbut the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

16  xTake a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,

and yhold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.4

17  zBread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,

but afterward his mouth will be full of agravel.

18  bPlans are established by counsel;

by cwise guidance dwage war.

19  Whoever egoes about slandering reveals secrets;

therefore do not associate with fa simple babbler.5

20  gIf one curses his father or his mother,

hhis lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

21  iAn inheritance gained hastily in the beginning

will not be blessed in the end.

22  Do not say, j“I will repay evil”;

kwait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.

23  lUnequal weights are an abomination to the Lord,

and mfalse scales are not good.

24  A man’s nsteps are from the Lord;

how then can man understand his way?

25  It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,”

and to reflect only oafter making vows.

26  A wise king pwinnows the wicked

and drives qthe wheel over them.

27  r