² What, O my son?
And what, O ^(A)son of my womb?
And what, O son of my ^(B)vows?
^3 (C)Do not give your excellence to women,
Or your ways to that which ^(D)blots out kings.
⁴ It is not for ^(E)kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to ^(F)drink wine,
Or for rulers to desire strong drink,
⁵ Lest he drink and forget what is decreed,
And ^(G)pervert the justice of all the ^[b]afflicted.
⁶ Give strong drink to him who is ^(H)perishing,
And wine to those ^(I)whose soul is bitter.
⁷ Let him drink and forget his poverty
And he will not remember his trouble any longer.
^8 (J)Open your mouth for the mute,
For the justice of all those ^[c]passing away.
⁹ Open your mouth, ^(K)judge righteously,
And render ^(L)justice to the afflicted and needy.

^10 [d]An ^(M)excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far ^(N)above pearls.

¹¹ The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.

¹² She deals bountifully with him for good and not evil
All the days of her life.

¹³ She searches for wool and flax
And works with her ^[e]hands ^[f]in delight.

¹⁴ She is like ^(O)merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.

¹⁵ And she ^(P)rises while it is still night,
And ^(Q)gives ^[g]food to her household
And a ^[h]portion to her young women.

¹⁶ She makes plans for a field and buys it;
From the fruit of her ^[i]hands she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷ She ^(R)girds ^[j]herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.

¹⁸ She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹ She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her ^[k]hands hold fast the spindle.

²⁰ She ^[l](S)extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

²¹ She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are ^(T)clothed with scarlet.

²² She makes ^(U)coverings for herself;
Her clothing is ^(V)fine linen and ^(W)purple.

²³ Her husband is known ^(X)in the gates,
When he sits with the elders of the land.

²⁴ She makes ^(Y)linen garments and sells them,
And gives belts to the ^[m]tradesmen.

²⁵ Strength and ^(Z)majesty are her clothing,
And she smiles at the ^[n]future.

²⁶ She ^(AA)opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the ^[o]instruction of lovingkindness is on her tongue.

²⁷ She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the ^(AB)bread of ^[p]idleness.

²⁸ Her children rise up and bless her;
As for her husband, he also praises her, saying:

²⁹ “Many daughters have done excellently,
But you have gone above them all.”

^30 [q]Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who ^[r](AC)fears Yahweh, she shall be praised.

³¹ Give to her from the fruit of her hands,
And let her works praise her in the gates.