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