Proverbs 31
31
1The words of king Lemuel; the oracle which his mother taught him.
2What, my son? and what, O son of my womb,
And what, O son of my vows?
3Give not thy strength unto women,
Nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
4It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine;
Nor for princes to say, Where is strong drink?
5Lest they drink, and forget the law,
And pervert the judgement of any that is afflicted.
6Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish,
And wine unto the bitter in soul:
7Let him drink, and forget his poverty,
And remember his misery no more.
8Open thy mouth for the dumb,
In the cause of all such as are left desolate.
9Open thy mouth, judge righteously,
And minister judgement to the poor and needy.
10A virtuous woman who can find?
For her price is far above rubies.
11The heart of her husband trusteth in her,
And he shall have no lack of gain.
12She doeth him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
13She seeketh wool and flax,
And worketh willingly with her hands.
14She is like the merchant-ships;
She bringeth her food from afar.
15She riseth also while it is yet night,
And giveth meat to her household,
And their task to her maidens.
16She considereth a field, and buyeth it:
With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17She girdeth her loins with strength,
And maketh strong her arms.
18She perceiveth that her merchandise is profitable:
Her lamp goeth not out by night.
19She layeth her hands to the distaff,
And her hands hold the spindle.
20She spreadeth out her hand to the poor;
Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21She is not afraid of the snow for her household;
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22She maketh for herself carpets of tapestry;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24She maketh linen garments and selleth them;
And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25Strength and dignity are her clothing;
And she laugheth at the time to come.
26She openeth her mouth with wisdom;
And the law of kindness is on her tongue.
27She looketh well to the ways of her household,
And eateth not the bread of idleness.
28Her children rise up, and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praiseth her, saying:
29Many daughters have done virtuously,
But thou excellest them all.
30Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:
But a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
31Give her of the fruit of her hands;
And let her works praise her in the gates.
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Proverbs 31: RV1885
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Proverbs 31
31
1These are the words of King Lemuel, an oracle, taught to him by his mother.
2What shall I tell you, my son?—the son I gave birth to, the son given in response to my vows.
3Don't waste your strength sleeping#31:3. “Sleeping” implied. with women, those that bring down kings.
4Lemuel, kings shouldn't be drinking wine, rulers shouldn't be drinking alcohol.#31:4. “Alcohol”: literally, “strong drink.”
5For if they drink, they'll forget what the law says, and pervert the rights of those who are suffering.
6Give alcohol to those who are dying, and wine to those who are in terrible distress.
7Let them drink so they can forget their poverty, and not remember their troubles any longer.
8Speak up for those who have no voice, for the rights of those marginalized by society.
9Speak up and judge fairly; defend the poor and destitute.
10Who can find a strong, capable wife? She's worth more than jewels!#31:10. “Jewels”: though often translated as “rubies,” it seems that they were not known at this time. The red jewels were likely to be carnelian or red coral.
11Her husband has complete confidence in her, and with her he'll never be poor.
12She brings him good, not evil, all her life.
13She gets wool and flax, and with her eager hands turns them into clothes.
14Like a merchant's ship, she brings food from far away.
15She gets up while it's still dark to make breakfast for her family, and to plan what her servant girls need to do.
16She looks at a field, and decides to buy it; from the money she's earned she buys a vineyard.
17She's keen to get ready, and works hard with her strong arms.
18She knows that the things she makes are valuable. She keeps busy—her lamp burns late into the night.
19She spins the thread and weaves the cloth.#31:19. The Hebrew refers to the distaff and spindle used in spinning and weaving, but not much known in modern life.
20She's generous to the poor, and gives help to the needy.
21She doesn't worry if it snows, because her whole family has warm#31:21. “Warm” following the implications of the Septuagint reading. Hebrew has “scarlet,” simply meaning expensive clothing. clothing.
22She makes herself bedspreads; she dresses in fine linen and purple clothes.
23Her husband is well-respected in the council at the town gates, where he sits with the town elders.
24She makes linen clothes for sale, and supplies merchants with belts.
25She's clothed with strength and dignity, and she is happy about the future.
26She speaks wise words, and she's kind when she gives instructions.
27She looks after the needs of her whole household, and she's never idle.
28Her children are quick to bless her. Her husband praises her too, saying,
29“Many women do great things, but you are better than all of them!”
30Charm can deceive, and beauty fades, but a woman who honors the Lord should be praised.
31Give her the recognition she deserves; praise her publicly for what she's done.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com