And nobles, even all the judges of the earth.

Female Excellence.

I love them that love me;

WHO can find a virtuous woman?
For her price is far above rubies.

And those that seek me early shall The heart of her husband doth safely

find me.

trust in her,

Riches and honor are with me;
Yea, durable riches and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, yea, than
fine gold;

So that he shall have no need of
spoil.

And my revenue than choice silver.
I lead in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of judgment,
That I may cause those that love me
to inherit substance;
And I will fill their treasures.

She will do him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax,
And worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants' ships;
She bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night,
And giveth meat to her household,
And a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it:

Prayer of Agur.

Surely I am more brutish than any With the fruit of her hand she planteth a vineyard.

man,

man.

And have not the understanding of a She girdeth her loins with strength,
And strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise
is good:

I neither learned wisdom,

Nor have the knowledge of the holy. Who hath ascended up into heaven, Her candle goeth not out by night. or descended? She layeth her hands to the spindle, Who hath gathered the wind in his And her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor;

fists?

Who hath bound the waters in a garment? .

Yea, she reacheth forth her hand to the needy.

Who hath established all the ends of the earth?

She is not afraid of the snow for her household:

What is his name, and what is his son's name,

For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

She maketh herself coverings of ta-
pestry;

Her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sitteth among the elders of
the land.

If thou canst tell?

Every word of God is pure:

He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Add thou not unto his words,
Lest he reprove thee, and thou be
found a liar.

Two things have I required of thee;
Deny me them not before I die :
Remove far from me vanity and lies:
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with food convenient for me:
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say,
Who is the Lord?

Or lest I be poor, and steal, and take

She maketh fine linen, and selleth it;
And delivere girdles unto the mer-
chant.
Strength and honor are her clothing;
And she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wis-
dom;

And in her tongue is the law of kind

She looketh well to the ways of her But the simple pass on, and are household,

punished.

And eateth not the bread of idleness. By humility and the fear of the Lord Her children arise up, and call her Are riches, and honor, and life. Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward:

blessed; Her husband also, and he praiseth

her.

He that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.

'Many daughters have done virtuously,

Train up a child in the way he should
go:

But thou excellest them all.'
Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain:
But a woman that feareth the Lord,
she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands;
And let her own works praise her in
the gates.

And when he is old, he will not depart
from it.
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a
child:

My beloved spake, and said unto me,
Rise up, my love, my fair one, and

come away.

For, lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds

is

come,

And the voice of the turtle is heard our land;

Withhold not correction from the child:
For if thou beatest him with the rod,
he shall not dio.

Thou shalt beat him with the rod,
And shalt deliver his soul from hell.
My son, if thine heart be wise,
My heart shall rejoice, even mine.
When thy lips speak right things.
Yea, my reins shall rejoice,
But be thou in the fear of the Lord
Let not thine heart envy sinners:
For surely there is an end.;
all the day long:
And thine expectation shall not be
cut off.

in

Make no friendship with an angry man;

And with a furious man thou shalt not go:

Lest thou learn his ways,

And get a snare to thy soul.

Be not thou one of them that strike
hands,

Or of them that are sureties for debts.
If thou hast nothing to pay,
Why should he take away thy bed
from under thee?

The fig-tree putteth forth her green
figs,
And the vines with the tender grape
give a good smell.

Arise, my love, my fair one, and
come away.

But the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

Miscellaneous Proverbs.

Many waters cannot quench love,
Neither can the floods drown it:
If a man would give all the substance
of his house for love,
It would utterly be contemned.
A good name is rather to be chosen
than great riches,
And loving favor rather than silver
and gold.

The rich and poor meet together:
The Lord is the maker of them all.
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and
hideth himself:

Remove not the ancient landmark,
Which thy fathers have set.
Seest thou a man diligent in his busi-
ness?

He shall stand before kings;

He shall not stand before mean men.

JOB.

OH that my grief were thoroughly] My brethren have dealt deceitfully as weighed, a brook,

And my calamity laid in the balances And as the stream of brooks they pass away;

together!

For now it would be heavier than the Which are blackish by reason of the

sand of the sea:

ice,

Therefore my words are swallowed up. And wherein the snow is hid:

For the arrows of the Almighty are What time they wax warm, they vanish:

within me,

The poison whereof drinketh up my When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.

spirit:

The terrors of God do set themselves The paths of their way are turned in array against me. aside;

Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass?

Or loweth the ox over his fodder? Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt?

Or is there any taste in the white of

They go to nothing, and perish.
The troops of Tema looked,
The companies of Sheba waited for

an egg?

The things that my soul refused to For now ye are nothing;

touch

them.

They were confounded because they had hoped ;

They came thither, and were ashamed.

Is my strength the strength of stones?
Or is my flesh of brass?
Is not my help in me?
And is wisdom driven quite from me?
To him that is afflicted, pity should be
showed from his friend;

Are as my sorrowful meat.

O that I might have my request;
And that God would grant me the Or,
thing that I long for!

Even that it would please God to de- Or,

Ye see my casting down, and are afraid.

Did I say, Bring unto me?

Give a reward for me of your substance?

Deliver me from the enemy's hand?

stroy me ;

That he would let loose his hand, and Or, Redeem me from the hand of the cut me off!

mighty?

Then should I yet have comfort;
Yea, I would harden myself in sorrow:
Let him not spare; for I have not con-

Teach me, and I will hold my tongue:
And cause me to understand wherein
I have erred.

cealed the words of the Holy One. What is my strength, that I should hope?

And what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?

How forcible are right words!
But what doth your arguing reprove?
Do ye imagine to reprove words,
And the spches of one that is des-
perate,
Which are as wind?

Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless,
And ye dig a pit for your friend.
Now therefore be content, look upon

me; For it is evident unto you if I lie. But he forsaketh the fear of the Al- Return, I pray you, let it not be ini

Yea, return again, my righteousness When I say, My bed shall comfort

is in it.

me,

things?

Is there iniquity in my tongue ? My couch shall ease my complaint;
Cannot my taste discern perverse Then thou scarest me with dreams,
And terrifiest me through visions:
So that my soul chooseth strangling,
And death rather than my life.
I loath it; I would not live alway:
Let me alone; for my days are vanity.
What is man, that thou shouldest
magnify him?

And that thou shouldest set thine
heart upon him?

And that thou shouldest visit him
every morning,

And try him every moment?
How long wilt thou not depart from

Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth?

Are not his days also like the days of an hireling?

As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow,

And as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work;

So am I made to possess months of vanity,

And wearisome nights are appointed

to me.

me,

When I lie down, I say, When shall Nor let me alone till I swallow down I arise, and the night be gone? And I am full of tossings to and fro I unto the dawning of the day. My flesh is clothed with worms and O clods of dust;

my spittle? have sinned: what shall I do unto thee,

My skin is broken, and becomes loathsome.

My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle,

And are spent without hope.
O remember that my life is wind:
Mine eyes shall no more see good.
The eye of him that hath seen me

shall see me no more:

thou Preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee,

more.

Therefore I will not refrain mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of

spirit;

So that I am a burden to myself? And why dost thou not pardon my transgression,

Thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. Then Job answered and said,
As the cloud is consumed and van-I know it is so of a truth:

And take away mine iniquity?
For now shall I sleep in the dust;
And thou shalt seek me in the morn-
ing, but I shall not be.

isheth away:

But how should a man be just with God?

So he that goeth down to the grave If he will contend with him, shall come up no more. He cannot answer him one of a He shall return no more to his house, thousand. Neither shall his place know him any He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength:

my Who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?

Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?

my Which removeth the mountains, and they know not:

I will complain in the bitterness of Which overturneth them in his anger. my soul. Which shaketh the earth out of her

place,
And the pillars thereof tremble.

Which commandeth the sun, and it For he knoweth vain men:
He seeth wickedness also;
Will he not then consider it?
For vain man would be wise,
Though man be born like a wild
ass's colt.

If thou prepare thine heart,
And stretch out thine hands towards
him;

If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far

riseth not;

And sealeth up the stars.
Which alone spreadeth out the hea-

vens,

And treadeth upon the waves of the

sea.

Which maketh Arcturus, Orion,
And Pleiades, and the chambers of
the south.

Which doeth great things past finding

If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: And if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?

out;

Yea, and wonders without number. Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot;

not:

He passeth on also, but I perceive Yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt

him not.

Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him?

Who will say unto him, What doest thou?

If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me :

prove me perverse.

Now my days are swifter than
post:

They flee away, they see no good.
They are passed away as the swift

ships:

As the eagle that hasteth to the prey.

Canst thou by searching find out
God?

away,

And let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.

Canst thou find out the Almighty
unto perfection ?.

It is as high as heaven; what canst
thou do?
Deeper than hell; what canst thou
know?

The measure thereof is longer than
the earth,

If I

say, I am perfect, it shall also Yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.

a Also thou shalt lie down, and none
shall make thee afraid;

Yea, many shall make suit unto thee.
But the eyes of the wicked shall fail,
And they shall not escape,
And their hope shall be as the giving
up of the ghost.

together,

not fear:

Because thou shalt forget thy misery,
And remember it as waters that pass

away:

And thine age shall be clearer than the noon-day;

Thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.

And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope;

Man that is born of a woman
Is of few days, and full of trouble.
He cometh forth like a flower, and is
cut down:

He

fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

And dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one,

And bringest me into judgment with thee?

And broader than the sea.

If he cut off, and shut up, or gather Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.