31 *The words of king aLemuel, bthe prophecy that his mother taught him.

2  What, my cson? and what, dthe cson of my womb?

And what, ethe cson of my vows?

3  fGive not thy strength unto women,

Nor thy ways gto that which destroyeth kings.

4  hIt is not for kings, O aLemuel, it is not for kings ito drink wine;

Nor for kprinces strong drink:

5  Lest they drink, and forget the law,

And †pervert the judgment †of any of the afflicted.

6  lGive strong drink unto him that is mready to perish,

And wine unto those that be †of heavy hearts.

7  Let him drink, and forget his poverty,

And remember his misery no more.

8  nOpen thy mouth for the dumb

In the cause of all †such as are appointed to destruction.

9  Open thy mouth, ojudge righteously,

And npplead the cause of the qpoor and needy.

10  rWho can find sa virtuous woman?

For ther price is far above urubies.

11  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her,

So that he shall have no need of spoil.

12  She will do him good and not evil

All the days of her life.

13  She xseeketh wool, and flax,

And worketh willingly with her hands.

14  She is like the merchants’ ships;

She bringeth her food from afar.

15  yShe riseth also while it is yet night,

And zgiveth meat to her household,

And aa portion to her maidens.

16  bShe considereth a field, and †buyeth it:

With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

17  cShe girdeth her loins with qstrength,

And strengtheneth her arms.

18  †She perceiveth that her merchandise is good:

Her dcandle goeth not out by night.

19  She layeth her hands to the spindle,

And her hands hold the edistaff.

20  †She fstretcheth out her hand to the gpoor;

Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the gneedy.

21  She is not afraid of the snow for her household:

For all her household are clothed with ||hscarlet.

22  She maketh herself icoverings of tapestry;

Her clothing is ksilk and lpurple.

23  mHer husband is known nin the gates,

nWhen he sitteth among the elders of the land.

24  She maketh ofine linen, and selleth it;

And delivereth girdles unto the pmerchant.

25  qStrength and honour are her clothing;

And rshe shall rejoice in time to come.

26  She openeth her mouth with wisdom;

And in her tongue is the law of kindness.

27  She looketh well to the ways of her household,

And eateth not the bread of idleness.

28  Her children arise up, and call her blessed;

Her husband also, and he praiseth her.

29  Many daughters ||have done tvirtuously,

But thou excellest them all.

30  uFavour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:

But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.

31  Give her of the fruit of her hands;

And let her own works praise her in the gates.

3 My son, forget not my law;

aBut let thine heart keep my commandments:

2  For blength of days, and †long life,

And cpeace, shall they add to thee.

3  Let not dmercy and truth forsake thee:

eBind them about thy fneck;

ffWrite them upon the table of thine heart:

4  gSo shalt thou find hfavour and ||good understanding

gIn the sight of God and man.

5  iTrust in the Lord with all thine heart;

And jlean not unto thine own understanding.

6  In all thy ways kacknowledge him,

And lhe shall direct thy paths.

7  mBe not wise in thine own eyes:

nFear the Lord, and nodepart from evil.

8  It shall be †health to thy navel,

And †pmarrow to thy bones.

9  Honour the Lord with thy substance,

And with qthe firstfruits of all thine increase:

10  So shall thy rbarns be filled with plenty,

And thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

11  sMy son, despise not the chastening of the Lord;

Neither be weary of his correction:

12  For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth;

Even tas a father the son in whom he delighteth.

13  uHappy is the man that findeth wisdom,

And †the man that getteth understanding.

14  For xthe merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver,

And the gain thereof than yfine gold.

15  She is more precious than zrubies:

And aall the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

16  bLength of days is in her right hand;

And in her left hand criches and honour.

17  dHer ways are ways of pleasantness,

And all her paths are peace.

18  She is ea tree of life to them that eelay hold upon her:

And happy is every one that retaineth her.

19  fThe Lord gby wisdom hath founded the earth;

gBy understanding hath he ||established the heavens.

20  By his knowledge hthe depths are broken up,

And ithe clouds drop down jthe dew.

21  My son, klet not them depart from thine eyes:

Keep lsound wisdom and mdiscretion:

22  So shall they be nlife unto thy soul,

And grace to thy oneck.

23  pThen shalt thou walk in thy way safely,

And qthy foot shall not stumble.

24  rWhen thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid:

Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

25  sBe not afraid of sudden fear,

ssNeither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.

26  For the Lord shall be thy confidence,

And shall tkeep thy foot from being taken.

27  uWithhold not good from †them to whom it is due,

When it is xin the power of thine hand to do it.

28  ySay not unto thy neighbour,

Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give;

When thou hast it by thee.

29  ||Devise not evil against thy neighbour,

Seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

30  zStrive not with a man without cause,

If he have done thee no harm.

31  aEnvy thou not †the oppressor,

And choose none of his ways.

32  For the bfroward is abomination to the Lord:

But chis secret is with the righteous.

33  dThe curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked:

But ddhe blesseth the habitation of the just.

34  Surely ehe scorneth the fscorners:

But he giveth grace unto the lowly.

35  gThe wise shall inherit glory:

But shame †shall be the promotion of fools.

4 aHear, ye children, the instruction of a father,

And attend to know bunderstanding.

2  For I give you good cdoctrine,

Forsake ye not my law.

3  For I was my father’s son,

dTender and eonly beloved in the sight of my mother.

4  fHe taught me also, and said unto me,

Let thine heart retain my words:

gKeep my commandments, and live.

5  hiGet wisdom, iget bunderstanding:

Forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

6  Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee:

jLove her, and she shall keep thee.

7  Wisdom is kthe principal thing; therefore iget wisdom:

And with all thy getting iget bunderstanding.

8  Exalt her, and she shall promote thee:

She shall lbring thee to honour, when thou dost membrace her.

9  She shall give to thine head nan ornament of grace:

||A crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

10  Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings;

And othe years of thy life shall be many.

11  pI have taught thee in the way of wisdom;

I have led thee in right paths.

12  When thou goest, qthy steps shall not be straitened;

And rwhen thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

13  sTake fast hold of instruction; slet her not go:

Keep her; for she is thy life.

14  tEnter not into the path of the wicked,

And ugo not in the way of evil men.

15  xAvoid it, pass not by it,

yTurn from it, and pass away.

16  zFor they sleep not, except they have done mischief;

And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

17  For they eat the bread of wickedness,

And drink the wine of violence.

18  aBut the path of the just is bas the shining light,

That shineth cmore and more unto the perfect day.

19  dThe way of the wicked is as darkness:

They know not eat what they stumble.

20  eeMy son, attend to my words;

Incline thine ear unto my sayings.

21  fLet them not depart from thine eyes;

gKeep them in the midst of thine heart.

22  For they are hlife unto those that find them,

And †health to all their flesh.

23  Keep thy heart †with all diligence;

iFor out of it are kthe issues of life.

24  Put away from thee †a lfroward mouth,

And mperverse lips put far from thee.

25  Let thine eyes look right on,

And let …