1These are sayings/messages that God gave to King Lemuel’s mother, and which his mother taught him:
2You are my son; I gave birth to you [RHQ];
3Do not exhaust your energy having sex [EUP] with women to whom you are not married,
4Lemuel, kings should not be constantly drinking wine
5If they do that, they forget the laws that they have made,
6Give strong/alcoholic drinks to those who are dying
7If they drink, they will forget that they are poor,
8Speak [MTY] to defend people who are unable to defend themselves;
9Speak [MTY] ◄on their behalf/to help them► and try to cause judges to decide matters fairly/justly;
10It is very difficult for a man to [RHQ] find a wife who is good and who is capable of doing many things.
11Her husband completely trusts her,
12She never does anything that would harm him;
13She finds wool and flax in the market,
14She is like [SIM] a ship that brings from far away goods/merchandise to sell,
15She gets up before dawn to prepare food for her family.
16She goes out and looks at a field that someone wants to sell;
17She works very hard [IDM];
18She knows when she is getting a good profit from her business.
19She holds the ◄spindle/rod which twists the thread that she is making►,
20She generously helps [MTY] those who are poor and needy [DOU].
21She is not worried that the people in her house will be cold in the winter,
22She makes bedspreads/quilts for the beds.
23Her husband is well known by the important people of the town;
24She makes clothes from linen cloth and sells them.
25She is strong in her character and respected/dignified,
26When she speaks, she says what is wise.
27She watches over everything that is done in her household,
28Her children all together speak highly of her,
29He says to her, “There are many women who do admirable things,
30Some women who are attractive are not really good women,
31Reward women who are like that,