Proverbs 31
New King James Version
The Words of King Lemuel’s Mother
31 The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him:
2 What, my son?
And what, son of my womb?
And what, (A)son of my vows?
3 (B)Do not give your strength to women,
Nor your ways (C)to that which destroys kings.
4 (D)It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to drink wine,
Nor for princes intoxicating drink;
5 (E)Lest they drink and forget the law,
And pervert the justice of all [a]the afflicted.
6 (F)Give strong drink to him who is perishing,
And wine to those who are bitter of heart.
7 Let him drink and forget his poverty,
And remember his misery no more.
8 (G)Open your mouth for the speechless,
In the cause of all who are [b]appointed to die.
9 Open your mouth, (H)judge righteously,
And (I)plead the cause of the poor and needy.
The Virtuous Wife
10 (J)Who[c] can find a [d]virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works with her hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food from afar.
15 (K)She also rises while it is yet night,
And (L)provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
From [e]her profits she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength,
And strengthens her arms.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is good,
And her lamp does not go out by night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hand holds the spindle.
20 (M)She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes tapestry for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 (N)Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies sashes for the merchants.
25 Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears 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.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 31:5 Lit. sons of affliction
- Proverbs 31:8 Lit. sons of passing away
- Proverbs 31:10 Vv. 10–31 are an alphabetic acrostic in Hebrew; cf. Ps. 119
- Proverbs 31:10 Lit. a wife of valor, in the sense of all forms of excellence
- Proverbs 31:16 Lit. the fruit of her hands
Mishle 31
Orthodox Jewish Bible
31 The devarim of Lemuel Melech, the massa (burden, oracle) that immo taught him.
2 What, my bar (son, see Ps 2:12)? And what, the bar of my womb? And what, the bar of my nedarim (vows)?
3 Give not thy strength unto nashim, nor thy drakhim to that which destroyeth melachim.
4 It is not for melachim, O Lemuel, it is not for melachim to drink yayin; nor for rulers to crave strong drink;
5 Lest they drink, and forget the decree, and pervert the justice of the bnei oni (all the oppressed afflicted people).
6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and yayin unto those that be of bitter nefesh.
7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his amal (misery) no more.
8 Open thy peh (mouth) for the illem (mute) in the cause of all such as are bnei chalof (sons of destitution).
9 Open thy peh (mouth), judge tzedek, and plead the cause of the oni and the evyon.
10 Who can find an aishes chayil (a woman of valor, an excellent wife Prov 12:4)? For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The lev of her ba’al (husband) doth securely trust in her, so that he shall have no lack of gain.
12 She will do him tov and not rah all the days of her life.
13 She seeketh tzemer (wool), and flax, and worketh willingly with her palms.
14 She is like the oniyyot socher (ship merchant); she bringeth her lechem from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet lailah, and provideth food to her bais, and a chok (portion) to her na’arot (servant girls).
16 She considereth a sadeh, and buyeth it; with the fruit of her palms she planteth a kerem (vineyard).
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her zero’ot (arms).
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is tov; her ner (light) goeth not out balailah.
19 She layeth her yadayim to the distaff, and her fingers lay hold of the spindle.
20 She extends her palms to the oni; indeed, she reacheth forth her yadayim to the evyon (needy).
21 She is not afraid of the sheleg (snow) for her bais; for all her bais are clothed with scarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her levush (clothing) is fine linen and purple.
23 Her ba’al (husband) is known in the she’arim, when he sitteth among the ziknei eretz.
24 She maketh fine garments, and selleth them; and delivereth sashes unto the kena’ani (merchant).
25 Oz (strength) and hadar (dignity) are her clothing; and her smile is toward the yom acharon (coming day, future).
26 She openeth her peh (mouth) with chochmah; and on her lashon is the torat chesed (teaching of kindness).
27 She watcheth well over the halichot (goings, ways) of her bais (household), and eateth not the lechem atzlut (bread of idleness).
28 Her banim rise up, and call her blessed; her ba’al (husband) also, and he praiseth her.
29 Rabbot banot have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30 Chen (charm) is sheker (deceitful), and yofi (beauty) is fleeting; but an isha Yirat Hashem (a G-d fearing wife), she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the p’ri (fruit) of her yadayim; and let her own ma’asim praise her in the she’arim.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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