The Book of Proverbs — Liber Proverbiorum
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Chapter 31
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1 Verba Lamuelis regis. Visio qua erudivit eum mater sua. | 1 The words of king Lamuel. The vision wherewith his mother instructed him. | 1 Here are words of king Lamuel; here is revelation his mother made known to him for his instruction. |
2 Quid, dilecte mi? quid, dilecte uteri mei? quid, dilecte votorum meorum? | 2 What, O my beloved, what, O the beloved of my womb, what, O the beloved of my vows? | 2 What word have I for my son, the child of my own womb, the fulfilment of my prayers? |
3 Ne dederis mulieribus substantiam tuam, et divitias tuas ad delendos reges. | 3 Give not thy substance to women, and thy riches to destroy kings. | 3 Wouldst thou give thyself up to the love of women, spend thy all on a king’s undoing? |
4 Noli regibus, o Lamuel, noli regibus dare vinum, quia nullum secretum est ubi regnat ebrietas; | 4 Give not to kings, O Lamuel, give not wine to kings: because there is no secret where drunkenness reigneth: | 4 Wine was never made for kings, Lamuel, never for kings; carouse befits ill thy council-chamber. |
5 et ne forte bibant, et obliviscantur judiciorum, et mutent causam filiorum pauperis. | 5 And lest they drink and forget judgments, and pervert the cause of the children of the poor. | 5 Not for them to drink deep, and forget the claims of right, and misjudge the plea of the friendless. |
6 Date siceram mœrentibus, et vinum his qui amaro sunt animo. | 6 Give strong drink to them that are sad: and wine to them that are grieved in mind: | 6 Strong drink for the mourner, wine for the afflicted heart; |
7 Bibant, et obliviscantur egestatis suæ, et doloris sui non recordentur amplius. | 7 Let them drink, and forget their want, and remember their sorrow no more. | 7 deep let them drink, and forget their need, and think of their misery no more. |
8 Aperi os tuum muto, et causis omnium filiorum qui pertranseunt. | 8 Open thy mouth for the dumb, and for the causes of all the children that pass. | 8 Do thou, meanwhile, give thy voice for dumb pleader and for doomed prisoner; |
9 Aperi os tuum, decerne quod justum est, et judica inopem et pauperem. | 9 Open thy mouth, decree that which is just, and do justice to the needy and poor. | 9 ever let that voice of thine pronounce true sentence, giving redress to the friendless and the poor. |
10 Mulierem fortem quis inveniet? procul et de ultimis finibus pretium ejus. | 10 Who shall find a valiant woman? far and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her. | 10 A man who has found a vigorous wife has found a rare treasure, brought from distant shores. |
11 Confidit in ea cor viri sui, et spoliis non indigebit. | 11 The heart of her husband trusteth in her, and he shall have no need of spoils. | 11 Bound to her in loving confidence, he will have no need of spoil. |
12 Reddet ei bonum, et non malum, omnibus diebus vitæ suæ. | 12 She will render him good, and not evil, all the days of her life. | 12 Content, not sorrow, she will bring him as long as life lasts. |
13 Quæsivit lanam et linum, et operata est consilia manuum suarum. | 13 She hath sought wool and flax, and hath wrought by the counsel of her hands. | 13 Does she not busy herself with wool and thread, plying her hands with ready skill? |
14 Facta est quasi navis institoris, de longe portans panem suum. | 14 She is like the merchant’s ship, she bringeth her bread from afar. | 14 Ever she steers her course like some merchant ship, bringing provision from far away. |
15 Et de nocte surrexit, deditque prædam domesticis suis, et cibaria ancillis suis. | 15 And she hath risen in the night, and given a prey to her household, and victuals to her maidens. | 15 From early dawn she is up, assigning food to the household, so that each waiting-woman has her share. |
16 Consideravit agrum, et emit eum; de fructu manuum suarum plantavit vineam. | 16 She hath considered a field, and bought it: with the fruit of her hands she hath planted a vineyard. | 16 Ground must be examined, and bought, and planted out as a vineyard, with the earnings of her toil. |
17 Accinxit fortitudine lumbos suos, et roboravit brachium suum. | 17 She hath girded her loins with strength, and hath strengthened her arm. | 17 How briskly she girds herself to the task, how tireless are her arms! |
18 Gustavit, et vidit quia bona est negotiatio ejus; non extinguetur in nocte lucerna ejus. | 18 She hath tasted and seen that her traffic is good: her lamp shall not be put out in the night. | 18 Industry, she knows, is well rewarded, and all night long her lamp does not go out. |
19 Manum suam misit ad fortia, et digiti ejus apprehenderunt fusum. | 19 She hath put out her hand to strong things, and her fingers have taken hold of the spindle. | 19 Jealously she sets her hands to work, her fingers clutch the spindle. |
20 Manum suam aperuit inopi, et palmas suas extendit ad pauperem. | 20 She hath opened her hand to the needy, and stretched out her hands to the poor. | 20 Kindly is her welcome to the poor, her purse ever open to those in need. |
21 Non timebit domui suæ a frigoribus nivis; omnes enim domestici ejus vestiti sunt duplicibus. | 21 She shall not fear for her house in the cold of snow: for all her domestics are clothed with double garments. | 21 Let the snow lie cold if it will, she has no fears for her household; no servant of hers but is warmly clad. |
22 Stragulatam vestem fecit sibi; byssus et purpura indumentum ejus. | 22 She hath made for herself clothing of tapestry: fine linen, and purple is her covering. | 22 Made by her own hands was the coverlet on her bed, the clothes of lawn and purple that she wears. |
23 Nobilis in portis vir ejus, quando sederit cum senatoribus terræ. | 23 Her husband is honourable in the gates, when he sitteth among the senators of the land. | 23 None so honoured at the city gate as that husband of hers, when he sits in council with the elders of the land. |
24 Sindonem fecit, et vendidit, et cingulum tradidit Chananæo. | 24 She made fine linen, and sold it, and delivered a girdle to the Chanaanite. | 24 Often she will sell linen of her own weaving, or make a girdle for the travelling merchant to buy. |
25 Fortitudo et decor indumentum ejus, et ridebit in die novissimo. | 25 Strength and beauty are her clothing, and she shall laugh in the latter day. | 25 Protected by her own industry and good repute, she greets the morrow with a smile. |
26 Os suum aperuit sapientiæ, et lex clementiæ in lingua ejus. | 26 She hath opened her mouth to wisdom, and the law of clemency is on her tongue. | 26 Ripe wisdom governs her speech, but it is kindly instruction she gives. |
27 Consideravit semitas domus suæ, et panem otiosa non comedit. | 27 She hath looked well to the paths of her house, and hath not eaten her bread idle. | 27 She keeps watch over all that goes on in her house, not content to go through life eating and sleeping. |
28 Surrexerunt filii ejus, et beatissimam prædicaverunt; vir ejus, et laudavit eam. | 28 Her children rose up, and called her blessed: her husband, and he praised her. | 28 That is why her children are the first to call her blessed, her husband is loud in her praise: |
29 Multæ filiæ congregaverunt divitias; tu supergressa es universas. | 29 Many daughters have gathered together riches: thou hast surpassed them all. | 29 Unrivalled art thou among all the women that have enriched their homes. |
30 Fallax gratia, et vana est pulchritudo: mulier timens Dominum, ipsa laudabitur. | 30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: the woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. | 30 Vain are the winning ways, beauty is a snare; it is the woman who fears the Lord that will achieve renown. |
31 Date ei de fructu manuum suarum, et laudent eam in portis opera ejus. | 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands: and let her works praise her in the gates. | 31 Work such as hers claims its reward; let her life be spoken of with praise at the city gates. |
