² I am more boorish than anyone,
    I lack human discernment;
³ I have not learned enough wisdom
    to know the Holy One.

⁴ Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has cupped the wind in the palms of his hands?
Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak?
Who established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is his son’s name?
Surely you know!

⁵ Every word of God’s is pure;
    he shields those taking refuge in him.
⁶ Don’t add anything to his words;
    or he will rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

⁷ [God,] I have asked two things of you;
    don’t deny them to me as long as I live —
⁸ keep falsehood and futility far from me,
    and give me neither poverty nor wealth.
Yes, provide just the food I need today;
⁹ for if I have too much, I might deny you
    and say, “Who is Adonai?”
And if I am poor, I might steal
    and thus profane the name of my God.

¹⁰ Never disparage a slave to his master,
    or he will curse you, and you will deserve it.

¹¹ There is a type of people who curse their fathers
    and don’t bless their mothers.
¹² There is a type of people clean in their own view,
    but not cleansed from their filth.
¹³ There is a type of people — how haughty their look! —
    utterly supercilious!
¹⁴ There is a type of people whose teeth are like swords,
    yes, their fangs are knives;
they devour the poor from the earth,
    the needy from humankind.

¹⁵ The leech has two daughters;
    they cry, “Give! Give!”
Three things are never satisfied;
four never say, “Enough!” —
¹⁶     Sh’ol and a barren womb;
    the earth, never satisfied with water;
    and fire, which never says, “Enough!”

¹⁷ The eye that mocks his father
    and scorns obeying his mother
will be pecked out by the ravens in the valley,
    and the vultures will eat it.

¹⁸ Three things are too wonderful for me,
four beyond my knowledge —
¹⁹     the way of an eagle in the sky,
    the way of a snake on a rock,
    the way of a ship on the open sea,
    and the way of a man with a girl.

²⁰ This is how an unfaithful wife behaves:
    she eats, wipes her mouth, and says, “I did nothing wrong.”

²¹ Three things make the earth quake,
four things it can’t bear —
²²     a slave who becomes king,
    a boor gorged with food,
²³     a hated [wife] when her husband takes her [back],
    and a slave-girl who inherits from her mistress.

²⁴ Four things on the earth are small;
    nevertheless, they are very wise —
²⁵ the ants, a species not strong,
    yet they store up their food in the summer;
²⁶ the coneys, a species with little power,
    yet they make their home in the rocks;
²⁷ the locusts, who have no king,
    yet they all march out in ranks;
²⁸ and the spiders, which you can catch in your hand,
    yet they are in the king’s palace.

²⁹ Three things are stately in their stride,
four of stately gait —
³⁰     the lion, mightiest of beasts,
    which turns aside for none;
³¹     the greyhound, the billy-goat
    and the king when his army is with him.
³² If you have been boorish, exalting yourself,
or if you have been scheming,
    lay your hand on your mouth.
³³ For as pressing milk produces butter
and pressing the nose produces blood,
    so pressing out anger produces strife.

31 The words of King L’mu’el, the prophecy with which his mother disciplined him:

² No, my son! No, son of my womb!
    No, son of my vows!
³ Don’t give your strength to women
    or your ways to that which destroys kings.
⁴ It is not for kings, L’mu’el,
    not for kings to drink wine;
it is not for rulers to ask,
    “Where can I find strong liquor?”
⁵ For they may drink, then forget what has been decreed,
    and pervert the justice due to the poor.
⁶ Give strong liquor to one who is perishing,
    wine to the deeply depressed;
⁷ let him drink, forget his poverty
    and cease to remember his troubles.

⁸ Speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves,
    for the rights of all who need an advocate.
⁹ Speak up, judge righteously,
    defend the cause of the poor and the needy.

א ¹⁰ Who can find a capable wife?
        Her value is far beyond that of pearls.
ב ¹¹ Her husband trusts her from his heart,
        and she will prove a great asset to him.
ג ¹² She works to bring him good, not harm,
        all the days of her life.

ד ¹³ She procures a supply of wool and flax
        and works with willing hands.
ה ¹⁴ She is like those merchant vessels,
        bringing her food from far away.
ו ¹⁵ It’s still dark when she rises to give food to her household
        and orders to the young women serving her.

ז ¹⁶ She considers a field, then buys it,
        and from her earnings she plants a vineyard.
ח ¹⁷ She gathers her strength around her
        and throws herself into her work.
ט ¹⁸ She sees that her business affairs go well;
        her lamp stays lit at night.

י ¹⁹ She puts her hands to the staff with the flax;
        her fingers hold the spinning rod.
כ ²⁰ She reaches out to embrace the poor
        and opens her arms to the needy.

ל ²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
        since all of them are doubly clothed.
מ ²² She makes her own quilts;
        she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

נ ²³ Her husband is known at the city gates
        when he sits with the leaders of the land.
ס ²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them;
        she supplies the merchants with sashes.

ע ²⁵ Clothed with strength and dignity,
        she can laugh at the days to come.
פ ²⁶ When she opens her mouth, she speaks wisely;
        on her tongue is loving instruction.
צ ²⁷ She watches how things go in her house,
        not eating the bread of idleness.

ק ²⁸ Her children arise; they make her happy;
        her husband too, as he praises her:
ר ²⁹ “Many women have done wonderful things,
        but you surpass them all!”

ש ³⁰ Charm can lie, beauty can vanish,
        but a woman who fears Adonai should be praised.
ת ³¹ Give her a share in what she produces;
        let her works speak her praises at the city gates.