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¹ These are the wordes of Kynge Lamuel, & ye lesson yt his mother taught him.² My sonne, thou sonne of my body: O my deare beloued sonne,³ geue not ouer thy substaunce & mynde vnto women, which are the destruccio eue of kynges.⁴ O Lamuel, geue kinges no wyne, geue kynges & prynces no stronge drynke:⁵ lest they beinge dronken forget the lawe, & regarde not ye cause of the poore, & of all soch as be in aduersite.⁶ Geue stronge drynke vnto soch as are condempned to death, & wyne vnto those yt mourne:⁷ that they maye drynke it, & forget their misery & aduersite.⁸ Be thou an aduocate & stonde in iudgment thyself, to speake for all soch as be dome & sucourles.⁹ With yi mouth defende ye thinge yt is laufull and right, and ye cause of ye poore and helplesse.

¹⁰ Who so fyndeth an honest faithful woma, she is moch more worth the perles.¹¹ The herte of hir husbande maye safely trust in her, so that he shal haue no nede of spoyles.¹² She wil do him good & not euel all ye dayes of hir life.¹³ She occupieth woll & flax, & laboureth gladly wt hir handes.¹⁴ She is like a marchauntes shippe, that bryngeth hir vytayles from farre.¹⁵ She is vp in ye night season, to prouyde meate for hir housholde, & foode for hir maydens.¹⁶ She considreth lode, & byeth it, and wt the frute of hir handes she planteth a vynyarde.¹⁷ She gyrdeth hir loynes with strength, and courageth hir armes.¹⁸ And yf she perceaue that hir houswifrie doth good, hir candle goeth not out by night.¹⁹ She layeth hir fyngers to the spyndle, & hir hande taketh holde of ye rocke.²⁰ She openeth hir hande to ye poore, yee she stretcheth forth hir hades to soch as haue nede.²¹ She feareth not yt the colde of wynter shal hurte hir house, for all hir housholde folkes are duble clothed.²² She maketh hir self fayre ornametes, hir clothige is whyte sylke & purple.²³ Hir hu?bade is moch set by in ye gates, whe he sytteth amonge ye rulers of ye londe.²⁴ She maketh cloth of sylke & selleth it, and delyuereth a gyrdle vnto ye marchaut.²⁵ Stregth and honoure is hir clothinge, & in the latter daye she shal reioyse.²⁶ She openeth hir mouth with wy?dome, & in hir toge is the lawe of grace.²⁷ She loketh wel to the wayes of hir housholde, & eateth not hir bred with ydilnes.²⁸ Hir children arise & call hir blessed, & hir hu?bande maketh moch of her.²⁹ Many daughters there be yt gather riches together, but thou goest aboue the all.³⁰ As for fauor, it is disceatfull, and beutie is a vayne thinge: but a woman that feareth the LORDE, she is worthy to be praysed.³¹ Geue her of the frute of hir handes, and let hir owne workes prayse her in the gates.