Proverbs 30:21-31:30

English Standard Version

²¹Under ^(A)three things ^(B)the earth trembles;
    under ^(C)four it cannot bear up:
²²^(D)a slave when he becomes king,
    and a fool when he is ^(E)filled with food;
²³^(F)an unloved woman when she ^(G)gets a husband,
    and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.

²⁴^(H)Four things on earth are small,
    but they are exceedingly wise:
²⁵^(I)the ants are a people not strong,
    yet they provide their food in the summer;
²⁶^(J)the rock badgers are a people not mighty,
    yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
²⁷the locusts have no ^(K)king,
    yet all of them march in ^(L)rank;
²⁸the lizard you can take in your hands,
    yet it is in kings' palaces.

²⁹^(M)Three things are stately in their tread;
    ^(N)four are stately in their stride:
³⁰the lion, which is mightiest among beasts
    and ^(O)does not turn back before any;
³¹the ^(P)strutting rooster,^[a] the he-goat,
    and a king whose army is with him.^[b]

³²If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,
    or if you have been devising evil,
    ^(Q)put your hand on your mouth.
³³For pressing milk produces curds,
    pressing the nose produces blood,
    and pressing anger produces strife.

The Words of King Lemuel

31 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:

²What are you doing, my son?^[c] What are you doing, ^(R)son of my womb?
    What are you doing, ^(S)son of my vows?
³Do ^(T)not give your strength to women,
    your ways to those ^(U)who destroy kings.
⁴^(V)It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
    it is not for kings ^(W)to drink wine,
    or for rulers to take ^(X)strong drink,
⁵lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
    and ^(Y)pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
⁶Give strong drink to the one who ^(Z)is perishing,
    and wine to ^(AA)those in bitter distress;^[d]
⁷^(AB)let them drink and forget their poverty
    and remember their misery no more.
⁸^(AC)Open your mouth for the mute,
    for the rights of all who are destitute.^[e]
⁹Open your mouth, ^(AD)judge righteously,
    ^(AE)defend the rights of ^(AF)the poor and needy.

The Woman Who Fears the Lord

¹⁰^[f] ^(AG)An excellent wife who can find?
    She is far more precious than ^(AH)jewels.
¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her,
    and he will have no lack of gain.
¹²She does him good, and not harm,
    all the days of her life.
¹³She ^(AI)seeks wool and flax,
    and works with willing hands.
¹⁴She is like the ships of the merchant;
    she brings her food from afar.
¹⁵She ^(AJ)rises while it is yet night
    and ^(AK)provides food for her household
    and portions for her maidens.
¹⁶She considers a field and buys it;
    with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷She ^(AL)dresses herself^[g] with strength
    and makes her arms strong.
¹⁸She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
    Her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹She puts her hands to the distaff,
    and her hands hold the spindle.
²⁰She ^(AM)opens her hand to ^(AN)the poor
    and reaches out her hands to ^(AO)the needy.
²¹She is not afraid of snow for her household,
    for all her household are clothed in ^(AP)scarlet.^[h]
²²She makes ^(AQ)bed coverings for herself;
    her clothing is ^(AR)fine linen and ^(AS)purple.
²³Her husband is known in ^(AT)the gates
    when he sits among the elders of the land.
²⁴She makes ^(AU)linen garments and sells them;
    she delivers sashes to the merchant.
²⁵^(AV)Strength and dignity are her clothing,
    and she laughs at the time to come.
²⁶She opens her mouth with wisdom,
    and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
²⁷She looks well to the ways of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸Her children rise up and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹“Many ^(AW)women have done ^(AX)excellently,
    but you surpass them all.”
³⁰^(AY)Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Footnotes

Proverbs 30:31 Or the magpie, or the greyhound; Hebrew girt-of-loins
Proverbs 30:31 Or against whom there is no rising up
Proverbs 31:2 Hebrew What, my son?
Proverbs 31:6 Hebrew those bitter in soul
Proverbs 31:8 Hebrew are sons of passing away
Proverbs 31:10 Verses 10–31 are an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
Proverbs 31:17 Hebrew She girds her loins
Proverbs 31:21 Or in double thickness