Textus Receptus Bibles
The Great Bible 1539
| 31:1 | The wordes of Kyng Lamuel, & the lesson that hys mother taught hym. |
| 31:2 | My sonne (why do ye so) thou sonne of my body: O my deare beloued sonne, |
| 31:3 | geue not ouer thi strength & waies vnto wemen, which are the destruccion euen of kynges. |
| 31:4 | O Lamuel, yt is not for kynges, it is not (I saye) for kinges to drinke wyne, nor Princes stronge dryncke |
| 31:5 | lest they beynge droncken forgett the lawe, and paruerte the iudgement of all poore mens childerne. |
| 31:6 | Geue stronge drincke vnto soch as are condempned to death, and wyne vnto those that mourne: |
| 31:7 | that they maye drincke it, and forgett theyr mysery & aduersytie. |
| 31:8 | Be thou an aduocate, for the dombe and stande in iudgement thy selfe, to speake for all soch as be socourles in this transitorye worlde. |
| 31:9 | Open thy mouth, defende the thynge that is lawfull and ryght, and the cause of the poore and helpelesse. |
| 31:10 | Who so fyndeth an honest faythfull woman, she is moch more worth then perles. |
| 31:11 | The hert of her husband maye safely trust in her, so that he shall fall in no pouertye. |
| 31:12 | She will do hym good and not euell, all the dayes of her lyfe. |
| 31:13 | She occupyeth woll and flaxe, & laboureth gladly with her handes. |
| 31:14 | She is lyke a marchauntes shyppe, that bryngeth her vytayles from a farre. |
| 31:15 | She is vp in the nyght season, to prouyde meate for her housholde, and fode for her maydens. |
| 31:16 | She consydreth lande, & byeth it, and with the frute of her handes she planteth a vyneyarde. |
| 31:17 | She gyrdeth her loynes with strength, & courageth her armes. |
| 31:18 | And yf the perceaue that her houswyferye doth good, her candle goeth not out by nyght. |
| 31:19 | She layeth her fyngers to the spyndell: and her hande taketh holde of the distaffe. |
| 31:20 | She openeth her hande to the poore, yee she stretcheth forth her handes to soche as haue nede. |
| 31:21 | She feareth not that the colde of wynter shall hurte her house, for all her housholde folkes are clothed with skarlett. |
| 31:22 | She maketh her selfe fayre ornamentes, her clothynge is whyte sylke & purple. |
| 31:23 | Her husband is moch set by in the gates, when he sytteth amonge the rulers of the land. |
| 31:24 | She maketh cloth of sylke and selleth it, & delyuereth gyrdles vnto the marchaunt. |
| 31:25 | Strength and honoure is her clothynge, & in the latter daye she shall reioyse. |
| 31:26 | She openeth her mouth with wysdome, and in her tonge is the lawe of grace. |
| 31:27 | She loketh well to the wayes of her housholde: & eateth not her bred with ydylnes. |
| 31:28 | Her children shall aryse, and call her blessed: & her housband shall make moch of her. |
| 31:29 | Many daughters there be that gather riches together, but thou goest aboue them all. |
| 31:30 | As for fauoure, it is disceatfull, and beutie is a vayne thynge: but a woman that feareth the Lorde, she is worthy to be praysed. |
| 31:31 | Geue her of the frute of her handes and let her awne worckes prayse her in the gates. |
The Great Bible 1539
The Great Bible of 1539 was the first authorized edition of the Bible in English, authorized by King Henry VIII of England to be read aloud in the church services of the Church of England. The Great Bible was prepared by Myles Coverdale, working under commission of Thomas, Lord Cromwell, Secretary to Henry VIII and Vicar General. In 1538, Cromwell directed the clergy to provide "one book of the bible of the largest volume in English, and the same set up in some convenient place within the said church that ye have care of, whereas your parishioners may most commodiously resort to the same and read it."