Proverbs 31

Chapter 31

The Words of Lemuel

¹The words of King Lemuel, the ¹oracle which his mother taught him:

²What, O my son?

And what, O ^ason of my womb?

And what, O son of my ^bvows?

^3aDo not give your strength to women,

Or your ways to that which ^bdestroys kings.

⁴It is not for ^akings, O Lemuel,

It is not for kings to ^bdrink wine,

Or for rulers to desire strong drink,

⁵For they will drink and forget what is decreed,

And ^apervert the ¹rights of all the ²afflicted.

⁶Give strong drink to him who is ^aperishing,

And wine to him ^1bwhose life is bitter.

⁷Let him drink and forget his poverty

And remember his trouble no more.

^8aOpen your mouth for the mute,

For the ¹rights of all the ²unfortunate.

⁹Open your mouth, ^ajudge righteously,

And ¹defend the ^brights of the afflicted and needy.

Description of a Worthy Woman

¹⁰An ^aexcellent wife, who can find?

For her worth is far ^babove jewels.

¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her,

And he will have no lack of gain.

¹²She does him good and not evil

All the days of her life.

¹³She looks for wool and flax

And works with her ¹hands ²in delight.

¹⁴She is like ^amerchant ships;

She brings her food from afar.

¹⁵She ^arises also while it is still night

And ^bgives food to her household

And ¹portions to her maidens.

¹⁶She considers a field and buys it;

From ¹her earnings she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷She ^agirds ¹herself with strength

And makes her arms strong.

¹⁸She senses that her gain is good;

Her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹She stretches out her hands to the distaff,

And her ¹hands grasp the spindle.

²⁰She ^1aextends her hand to the poor,

And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

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

For all her household are ^aclothed with scarlet.

²²She makes ^acoverings for herself;

Her clothing is ^bfine linen and ^cpurple.

²³Her husband is known ^ain the gates,

When he sits among the elders of the land.

²⁴She makes ^alinen garments and sells them,

And ¹supplies belts to the ²tradesmen.

²⁵Strength and ^adignity are her clothing,

And she smiles at the ¹future.

²⁶She ^aopens her mouth in wisdom,

And the ¹teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

²⁷She looks well to the ways of her household,

And does not eat the ^abread of idleness.

²⁸Her children rise up and bless her;

Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:

²⁹“Many daughters have done nobly,

But you excel them all.”

³⁰Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,

But a woman who ^1afears the Lord, she shall be praised.

³¹Give her the ¹product of her hands,

And let her works praise her in the gates.