Textus Receptus Bibles
Matthew's Bible 1537
| 31:1 | The wordes of kyng Lamuell, and the Prophecye that his mother taughte hym. |
| 31:2 | My sonne, thou sonne of my body: O my deare beloued sonne, |
| 31:3 | geue not ouer thy substaunce & mynde vnto women, whiche are the destruction euen of kinges. |
| 31:4 | O Lamuel, geue kynges no wyne, geue kynges & princes no strong drincke: |
| 31:5 | lest they beyng dronken forget the law, & regarde not the cause of the poore, and of al such as be in aduersite. |
| 31:6 | Geue strong drinke vnto suche as are condempned to death, & wyne vnto those that mourne: |
| 31:7 | that they may drinke it, & forget their misery and aduersitie. |
| 31:8 | Be thou an aduocate, and stande in iudgement thy selfe, to speake for all such as be domme & socourles. |
| 31:9 | With thy mouth defende the thyng that is lawful and right, and the cause of the poore and helpelesse. |
| 31:10 | Aleph. Who so fyndeth an honest faythfull woman, she is much more worth then pearles. |
| 31:11 | Beth. The hert of her husband may safely trust in her, so that he shal haue no nede of spoyles. |
| 31:12 | Gimel. She will do him good & not euell all the dayes of her lyfe. |
| 31:13 | Daleth. She occupyeth woll and flax, and laboureth gladly with her handes. |
| 31:14 | He. She is lyke a merchauntes shyppe, that bringeth her vitayles from a farre. |
| 31:15 | Vau. She is vp in the night season, to prouyde meate for her housholde, and foode for her maydens. |
| 31:16 | Zain. She considreth lande, & byeth it, & wyth the frute of her handes she planteth a vyneyarde. |
| 31:17 | Heth. She gyrdeth her loynes with strength, and courageth her armes. |
| 31:18 | Teth. And if she perceyue that her houswyfrye doth good, her candle goeth not out by night. |
| 31:19 | Iod. She layeth her fingers to the spyndle, & her hande taketh holde of the rocke. |
| 31:20 | Caph. She openeth her hande to the poore, yea, she stretched forthe her handes too suche as haue nede. |
| 31:21 | Lamed. She feareth not that the colde of wynter shall hurte her house, for all her housholde folkes are double clothed. |
| 31:22 | Mem. She maketh her selfe fayre ornamentes, her clothyng is whyte silke and purple. |
| 31:23 | Nun. Her husband is much set by in the gates, when he sitteth among the rulers of the lande. |
| 31:24 | Samech. She maketh cloth of silke & selleth it, and deliuereth a gyrdle vnto the marchaunt. |
| 31:25 | Ain. Strength and honour is her clothynge, & in the latter daye she shall reioyse. |
| 31:26 | Phe. She openeth her mouth with wysdome, and in her tonge is the lawe of grace. |
| 31:27 | Zade. She loketh well to the wayes of her housholde, & eateth not her bread with ydelnes. |
| 31:28 | Koph. Her chyldren arise, and call her blessed: & her husbande maketh much of her. |
| 31:29 | Res. Many daughters there be that gather riches together, but thou goest aboue them all. |
| 31:30 | Sin. As for fauour, it is disceatfull, & beuty is a vayne thing: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she is worthy to be praysed. |
| 31:31 | Thau. Geue her of the frute of her handes, & let her owne workes prayse her in the gates. |
Matthew's Bible 1537
The Matthew Bible, also known as Matthew's Version, was first published in 1537 by John Rogers, under the pseudonym "Thomas Matthew". It combined the New Testament of William Tyndale, and as much of the Old Testament as he had been able to translate before being captured and put to death, with the translations of Myles Coverdale as to the balance of the Old Testament and the Apocrypha, except the Apocryphal Prayer of Manasses. It is thus a vital link in the main sequence of English Bible translations.