Passage

Proverbs 31.8-9

Book: Proverbs · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"6. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, And wine unto the bitter in soul: 7. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more."

"8. Open thy mouth for the dumb, In the cause of all such as are left desolate. 9. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, And minister justice to the poor and needy."

"10. A worthy woman who can find? For her price is far above rubies. 11. The heart of her husband trusteth in her, And he shall have no lack of gain." (Proverbs 31:6-11, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"6. Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish; and wine to the bitter in soul: 7. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more."

"8. Open your mouth for the mute, in the cause of all who are left desolate. 9. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and serve justice to the poor and needy.”"

"10. Who can find a worthy woman? For her price is far above rubies. 11. The heart of her husband trusts in her. He shall have no lack of gain." (Proverbs 31:6-11, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"6. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. ^{of: Heb. bitter of soul} 7. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more."

"8. Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. ^{such: Heb. the sons of destruction} 9. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy."

"10. Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 11. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil." (Proverbs 31:6-11, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"6. Give strong drink to the perishing, And wine to the bitter in soul, 7. He drinketh, and forgetteth his poverty, And his misery he remembereth not again."

"8. Open thy mouth for the dumb, For the right of all sons of change. 9. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, Both the cause of the poor and needy!'"

"10. A woman of worth who doth find? Yea, far above rubies [is] her price. 11. The heart of her husband hath trusted in her, And spoil he lacketh not." (Proverbs 31:6-11, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Solomon (principal); Agur; Lemuel; wise men
Audience: young Israelite men in the wisdom tradition
Location: Israel, Solomonic court
Time period: principal composition c. 970-930 BC (Solomon); compilation c. 700 BC (Hezekiah)

Theological reading

Key words

H1121 - ben, ben (Strong's H1121). Also appears in: Genesis 3, Genesis 4.26, Genesis 6.2.
H6664 - tzedeq, tzedeq (Strong's H6664). Also appears in: Psalms 7.17, Psalms 17, Psalms 23.3.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.