Proverbs of Solomon 31 — The Holy Bible

My words were spoken by God,

The oracular response of a king, whom his mother instructed.

A Mother's Wisdom

“What, my child, will you keep? What? The words of God.”

My firstborn son, I say to you, “What, the child of my womb?

What, the child of my vows?”

Do not give your wealth to women,

Nor your heart or life to remorse.

Do all things with counsel;

Drink wine with counsel;

Princes are prone to anger, but let them not drink wine,

Lest while they drink, they forget wisdom,

And be unable to judge the weak uprightly.

Give strong drink to those in sorrow,

And wine to drink for those in pain,

So they may forget their poverty

And no longer remember their grief.

Open your mouth for the word of God,

And judge all men fairly;

Open your mouth and judge righteously,

And plead the cause of the poor and helpless.

A Virtuous Wife

Who will find a courageous wife?

For such a one is more valuable than precious stones.

The heart of her husband trusts in her;

She will not be at a loss for fine spoils,

For she provides good things for her husband all her life.

She weaves wool and linen cloth

And is productive with her hands.

She is like a ship trading afar off,

So she procures her livelihood.

She also rises before dawn

And gives food to her household,

And appoints tasks for her maidservants.

Seeing a farm, she buys it,

And from the fruits of her hands she plants her plot of land.

Strongly girding her loins,

She strengthens her arms for work.

She experiences work as a good thing,

And her lamp is not quenched all night.

She extends her arms to do profitable things,

And she applies her hands to the spindle.

She opens her hands to the poor

And reaches out with her fruit to the needy.

Her husband is not anxious about those at home

When he spends a long time elsewhere,

For all her household are clothed.

She makes a double upper garment for her husband

And garments of fine linen and purple for herself.

Her husband is respected at the gates

And when he sits in council with the elders who inhabit the land.

She makes and sells fine linens

And girdles to the Canaanites.

She opens her mouth carefully and lawfully

And controls her tongue.

She clothes herself with strength and dignity

And rejoices in the last days.

She runs her household carefully,

And she does not eat the bread of idleness.

She opens her mouth wisely and lawfully,

And her charity raises her children, and they become rich,

And her husband praises her,

“Many daughters acquire riches; many do mighty things,

But you excel and surpass all.”

Desires to please are deceitful, and the beauty of a wife is vain;

For a wise wife is blessed,

And let her in fear praise the Lord.

Give to her from the fruits of her hands,

And let her husband praise her at the gates.