Proverbs 31

¹The words of king Lamuel. The vision wherewith his mother instructed him.

²What, O my beloved, what, O the beloved of my womb, what, O the beloved of my vows?

³Give not thy substance to women, and thy riches to destroy kings.

⁴Give not to kings, O Lamuel, give not wine to kings: because there is no secret where drunkenness reigneth:

⁵And lest they drink and forget judgments, and pervert the cause of the children of the poor.

⁶Give strong drink to them that are sad: and wine to them that are grieved in mind:

⁷Let them drink, and forget their want, and remember their sorrow no more.

⁸Open thy mouth for the dumb, and for the causes of all the children that pass.

⁹Open thy mouth, decree that which is just, and do justice to the needy and poor.

¹⁰Who shall find a valiant woman? far and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her.

¹¹The heart of her husband trusteth in her, and he shall have no need of spoils.

¹²She will render him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.

¹³She hath sought wool and flax, and hath wrought by the counsel of her hands.

¹⁴She is like the merchant’s ship, she bringeth her bread from afar.

¹⁵And she hath risen in the night, and given a prey to her household, and victuals to her maidens.