{Or, The words of Lemuel king of Massa, which &c. See chapter 30:1 margin.}The words of king Lemuel; the {Or, burden}oracle which his mother taught him.
What, my son? and what, O son of my womb?
And what, O son of my vows?
Give not thy strength unto women,
Nor thy ways to {Or, as otherwise read, them that destroy}that which destroyeth kings.
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine;
Nor for princes {Another reading is, to desire strong drink.}to say, Where is strong drink?
Lest they drink, and forget {Hebrew: that which is decreed.}the law,
And pervert the justice due to {Hebrew: all the sons of the affliction.}any that is afflicted.
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish,
And wine unto the bitter in soul:
Let him drink, and forget his poverty,
And remember his misery no more.
Open thy mouth for the dumb,
In the cause of all such as are {Or, ready to pass away Hebrew; the sons of passing away.}left desolate.
Open thy mouth, judge righteously,
And minister justice to the poor and needy.
A worthy woman who can find?
For her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband trusteth in her,
And he shall have no lack of {Hebrew: spoil.}gain.
She doeth him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
She seeketh wool and flax,
And worketh {Or, at the business of}willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchant-ships;
She bringeth her bread from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night,
And giveth food to her household,
And their {Or, portion}task to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it;
With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength,
And maketh strong her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is profitable;
Her lamp goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the distaff,
And her {Hebrew: palms.}hands hold the spindle.
She stretcheth out her {Hebrew: palm.}hand to the poor;
Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household;
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh for herself {Or, cushions}carpets of tapestry;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh linen garments and selleth them,
And delivereth girdles unto the {Hebrew: Canaanites.}merchant.
Strength and dignity are her clothing;
And she laugheth at the time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom;
And the {Or, teaching}law of kindness is on her tongue.
She looketh well to the ways of her household,
And eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up, and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praiseth her, saying:
Many daughters have done worthily,
But thou excellest them all.
Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain;
But a woman that feareth Jehovah, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands;
And let her works praise her in the gates.
Querverweise zu Sprüche 31,26 Spr 31,26
Open thy mouth for the dumb,In the cause of all such as are {Or, ready to pass away Hebrew; the sons of passing away.}left desolate.
There is that speaketh rashly like the piercings of a sword;But the tongue of the wise is health.
Open thy mouth, judge righteously,And minister justice to the poor and needy.
Pleasant words are as a honeycomb,Sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
But his wife said unto him, If Jehovah were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt-offering and a meal-offering at our hand, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would at this time have told such things as these.
By long forbearing is a {Or, judge}ruler persuaded,And a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
And she fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity; and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy handmaid.
Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this worthless fellow, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; {That is, Fool.}Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.
Now therefore, my lord, as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing Jehovah hath withholden thee {Hebrew: from coming into blood.}from bloodguiltiness, and from {Hebrew: thine own hand saving thee.}avenging thyself with thine own hand, now therefore let thine enemies, and them that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
And now this {Hebrew; blessing.}present which thy servant hath brought unto my lord, let it be given unto the young men that follow my lord.
Forgive, I pray thee, the trespass of thy handmaid: for Jehovah will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth the battles of Jehovah; and evil shall not be found in thee all thy days.
And though men be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of {Or, the living}life with Jehovah thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling.
And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee prince over Israel,
that this shall be no {Hebrew: cause of staggering.}grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, {Or, so that thou shouldest shed &c.}either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord hath avenged himself. And when Jehovah shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid.
And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.
And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.
Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee.
And he came near unto her; and the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thy handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.
Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter.
I am of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of Jehovah?
And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
The matter is not so: but a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David; deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. And he blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.
O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock,In the covert of the steep place,Let me see thy countenance,Let me hear thy voice;For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
And she said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Tell ye the man that sent you unto me,
Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read.
Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched.
But unto the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of Jehovah, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: As touching the words which thou hast heard,
because thy heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before Jehovah, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become {Or, an astonishment}a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith Jehovah.
Therefore, behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.
Thy lips, O my bride, {Or, drop honey}drop as the honeycomb:Honey and milk are under thy tongue;And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
And Esther's maidens and her chamberlains came and told it her; and the queen was exceedingly grieved: and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take his sackcloth from off him; but he received it not.
The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many away from iniquity.
If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to-morrow as the king hath said.
And all that sat in the council, fastening their eyes on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:
for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my peace, {Or, for our affliction is not to be compared with the king's damage}although the adversary could not have compensated for the king's damage.
Then spake the king Ahasuerus and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?
And Esther said, An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
In like manner, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, even if any obey not the word, they may without the word be gained by the {Or, manner of life verse 16}behavior of their wives;
And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.
Then the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre. So Esther arose, and stood before the king.
And she said, If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews that are in all the king's provinces:
for how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?
but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible apparel of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
And Mary said, Behold, the {Greek: bondmaid.}handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
For after this manner aforetime the holy women also, who hoped in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own {Or, husbands (as Sarah…ye are become), doing well, and not being afraid}husbands:
and she lifted up her voice with a loud cry, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come unto me?
For behold, when the voice of thy salutation came into mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
And blessed is she that {Or, believed that there shall be}believed; for there shall be a fulfilment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord.
And Mary said,My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath looked upon the low estate of his {Greek: bondmaid.}handmaid:For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath done to me great things;And holy is his name.
And his mercy is unto generations and generationsOn them that fear him.
He hath showed strength with his arm;He hath scattered the proud {Or, by}in the imagination of their heart.
He hath put down princes from their thrones,And hath exalted them of low degree.
The hungry he hath filled with good things;And the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath given help to Israel his servant,That he might remember mercy
(As he spake unto our fathers)Toward Abraham and his seed for ever.
And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned unto her house.
Finally, be ye all likeminded, {Greek: sympathetic.}compassionate, loving as brethren, tenderhearted, humbleminded:
and he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more accurately.
not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but contrariwise blessing; for hereunto were ye called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for {Greek: the building up of the need.}edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear.
Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, {Greek: buying up the opportunity.}redeeming the time.