Verba Lamuelis regis. Visio qua erudivit eum mater sua.

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

Here are words of king Lamuel; here is revelation his mother made known to him for his instruction.

Quid, dilecte mi? quid, dilecte uteri mei? quid, dilecte votorum meorum?

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

What word have I for my son, the child of my own womb, the fulfilment of my prayers?

Ne dederis mulieribus substantiam tuam, et divitias tuas ad delendos reges.

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

Wouldst thou give thyself up to the love of women, spend thy all on a king’s undoing?

Noli regibus, o Lamuel, noli regibus dare vinum, quia nullum secretum est ubi regnat ebrietas;

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

Wine was never made for kings, Lamuel, never for kings; carouse befits ill thy council-chamber.

et ne forte bibant, et obliviscantur judiciorum, et mutent causam filiorum pauperis.

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

Not for them to drink deep, and forget the claims of right, and misjudge the plea of the friendless.

Date siceram mœrentibus, et vinum his qui amaro sunt animo.

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

Strong drink for the mourner, wine for the afflicted heart;

Bibant, et obliviscantur egestatis suæ, et doloris sui non recordentur amplius.

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

deep let them drink, and forget their need, and think of their misery no more.

Aperi os tuum muto, et causis omnium filiorum qui pertranseunt.

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

Do thou, meanwhile, give thy voice for dumb pleader and for doomed prisoner;

Aperi os tuum, decerne quod justum est, et judica inopem et pauperem.

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

ever let that voice of thine pronounce true sentence, giving redress to the friendless and the poor.

Mulierem fortem quis inveniet? procul et de ultimis finibus pretium ejus.

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

A man who has found a vigorous wife has found a rare treasure, brought from distant shores.

Confidit in ea cor viri sui, et spoliis non indigebit.

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

Bound to her in loving confidence, he will have no need of spoil.

Reddet ei bonum, et non malum, omnibus diebus vitæ suæ.

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

Content, not sorrow, she will bring him as long as life lasts.

Quæsivit lanam et linum, et operata est consilia manuum suarum.

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

Does she not busy herself with wool and thread, plying her hands with ready skill?

Facta est quasi navis institoris, de longe portans panem suum.

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

Ever she steers her course like some merchant ship, bringing provision from far away.

Et de nocte surrexit, deditque prædam domesticis suis, et cibaria ancillis suis.

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

From early dawn she is up, assigning food to the household, so that each waiting-woman has her share.

Consideravit agrum, et emit eum; de fructu manuum suarum plantavit vineam.

She hath considered a field, and bought it: with the fruit of her hands she hath planted a vineyard.

Ground must be examined, and bought, and planted out as a vineyard, with the earnings of her toil.

Accinxit fortitudine lumbos suos, et roboravit brachium suum.

She hath girded her loins with strength, and hath strengthened her arm.

How briskly she girds herself to the task, how tireless are her arms!

Gustavit, et vidit quia bona est negotiatio ejus; non extinguetur in nocte lucerna ejus.

She hath tasted and seen that her traffic is good: her lamp shall not be put out in the night.

Industry, she knows, is well rewarded, and all night long her lamp does not go out.

Manum suam misit ad fortia, et digiti ejus apprehenderunt fusum.

She hath put out her hand to strong things, and her fingers have taken hold of the spindle.

Jealously she sets her hands to work, her fingers clutch the spindle.

Manum suam aperuit inopi, et palmas suas extendit ad pauperem.

She hath opened her hand to the needy, and stretched out her hands to the poor.

Kindly is her welcome to the poor, her purse ever open to those in need.

Non timebit domui suæ a frigoribus nivis; omnes enim domestici ejus vestiti sunt duplicibus.

She shall not fear for her house in the cold of snow: for all her domestics are clothed with double garments.

Let the snow lie cold if it will, she has no fears for her household; no servant of hers but is warmly clad.

Stragulatam vestem fecit sibi; byssus et purpura indumentum ejus.

She hath made for herself clothing of tapestry: fine linen, and purple is her covering.

Made by her own hands was the coverlet on her bed, the clothes of lawn and purple that she wears.

Nobilis in portis vir ejus, quando sederit cum senatoribus terræ.

Her husband is honourable in the gates, when he sitteth among the senators of the land.

None so honoured at the city gate as that husband of hers, when he sits in council with the elders of the land.

Sindonem fecit, et vendidit, et cingulum tradidit Chananæo.

She made fine linen, and sold it, and delivered a girdle to the Chanaanite.

Often she will sell linen of her own weaving, or make a girdle for the travelling merchant to buy.

Fortitudo et decor indumentum ejus, et ridebit in die novissimo.

Strength and beauty are her clothing, and she shall laugh in the latter day.

Protected by her own industry and good repute, she greets the morrow with a smile.

Os suum aperuit sapientiæ, et lex clementiæ in lingua ejus.

She hath opened her mouth to wisdom, and the law of clemency is on her tongue.

Ripe wisdom governs her speech, but it is kindly instruction she gives.

Consideravit semitas domus suæ, et panem otiosa non comedit.

She hath looked well to the paths of her house, and hath not eaten her bread idle.

She keeps watch over all that goes on in her house, not content to go through life eating and sleeping.

Surrexerunt filii ejus, et beatissimam prædicaverunt; vir ejus, et laudavit eam.

Her children rose up, and called her blessed: her husband, and he praised her.

That is why her children are the first to call her blessed, her husband is loud in her praise:

Multæ filiæ congregaverunt divitias; tu supergressa es universas.

Many daughters have gathered together riches: thou hast surpassed them all.

Unrivalled art thou among all the women that have enriched their homes.

Fallax gratia, et vana est pulchritudo: mulier timens Dominum, ipsa laudabitur.

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: the woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.

Vain are the winning ways, beauty is a snare; it is the woman who fears the Lord that will achieve renown.

Date ei de fructu manuum suarum, et laudent eam in portis opera ejus.

Give her of the fruit of her hands: and let her works praise her in the gates.

Work such as hers claims its reward; let her life be spoken of with praise at the city gates.