Proverbs 31: A king's mum and a wonderful wife | Bible study

Proverbs 31:1

These are the words of King Lemuel. His mum taught him these weighty things.

The words of Lemuel, a king: the oracle that his mother drilled into him:

A new heading. The teaching is credited to a king, but its real author is his mother. Proverbs 1:8 told the son not to abandon his mother's teaching, and here at the end of the book is an example of it. Lemuel is not known from anywhere else.

דבר · davar · word, saying

The same heading formula as 30:1.

מלך · melek · king

The word for king, used four times in the first four verses. The advice is about what the office demands.

משא · massa · burden, oracle

A weighty message, from nasa, to carry. The same word heads Agur's sayings in 30:1.

אם · em · mother

The only place in the Bible where a section of teaching is said outright to come from a woman to a king.

יסר · yasar · discipline, correct

The verb behind musar, the discipline that Proverbs is about from 1:2 onward. She did not merely inform him; she trained and corrected him.

In the royal courts of the ancient Near East the king's mother often held an official position and real influence; in Judah she was called the gevirah, the great lady (1 Kings 2:19, 15:13). A queen mother instructing her son on kingship fits that setting.

As in 30:1, massa may be a place name. The words can be read 'Lemuel, king of Massa', an Arabian tribe descended from Ishmael (Genesis 25:14), instead of 'King Lemuel, the oracle'. The Hebrew of verses 2 and 3 has several Aramaic forms, which suits a setting outside Israel.

Proverbs 31:2

Listen, my son! I carried you inside me. I prayed for you and made promises to God about you.

What, my son?

She begins with a cry, not a statement. It can be heard as 'what shall I say to you?' or as a reproachful 'what are you doing?'. Either way it shows how urgently she feels what follows.

What, son of my womb?

The second cry adds a reason he should listen: she carried him. The claim on his attention gets closer with each line.

What, son of my vows?

The third reason is the strongest. She prayed for this child and made promises to God about him. His life is an answer to prayer, and she wants it lived that way.

בר · bar · son

This is the Aramaic word for son, not the usual Hebrew ben. It is used three times in the verse.

בטן · beten · belly, womb

The belly, and so the womb. She appeals to the physical bond between them.

נדר · neder · vow

A solemn promise made to God, usually tied to a request. Hannah made one when she asked for a son (1 Samuel 1:11).

Proverbs 31:3

Do not use up your strength chasing after women. That is the road that ruins kings.

Do not hand your strength over to women,

The first warning. A king's vigor, wealth and attention belong to his people. A harem drains all three. Solomon is the standing example (1 Kings 11:1-4).

or your course of life to what wipes out kings.

The second line names the result. This path does not merely distract kings; it erases them. She is telling him that sexual indulgence is a matter of political survival, not private taste.

חיל · chayil · strength, ability, wealth

A broad word: physical strength, capability, an army, wealth. Do not spend it on women, she says. The poem in verse 10 will describe a woman who has it herself.

אשה · ishah · woman, wife

The ordinary word for a woman or wife, here plural. The warning is against many women, not against the wife of verse 10, who is called by the same word.

דרך · derek · road, way of life

The road a life takes, the main image of the book. Here it means his conduct and energies.

מחה · machah · wipe out

To wipe away or blot out, as writing is wiped from a tablet. The same verb describes the adulteress wiping her mouth in 30:20.

מלך · melek · king

The plural here has an Aramaic ending, melakhin, another sign of the non-Israelite coloring of this section.

The second line is compressed. It can mean 'to that which destroys kings' or 'to those women who destroy kings'. The sense is the same either way.

Proverbs 31:4

Lemuel, wine is not for kings. Rulers should not want strong drink.

It is not for kings, Lemuel,

The second warning opens by naming him and his office. The phrase 'not for kings' means it does not fit the role.

it is not for kings to drink wine,

The repetition makes it emphatic. What an ordinary person may do, a person with power over others' lives should not. The reason comes in verse 5.

nor for rulers to crave strong drink,

The partner line moves from drinking to wanting it. She is warning against the appetite, not only against the act.

מלך · melek · king

Said twice in the verse. The stress is on the office: a king is not a private person.

יין · yayin · wine

Fermented grape juice, the everyday drink of the region.

רוזן · rozen · ruler, dignitary

A poetic word for a high official, regularly paired with kings (Proverbs 8:15).

שכר · shekar · strong drink, beer

From the verb to be drunk. A fermented drink made from grain or fruit other than grapes, probably beer. Proverbs 20:1 pairs it with wine in the same way.

Proverbs 31:5

If they drink, they forget the rules. Then they are unfair to people in need.

or they will drink and forget what has been laid down,

This is the reason. A king's first duty is to apply the law, and drink makes him forget what the law says.

and change the verdict owed to every afflicted person.

The people who pay for the king's drinking are the poor. They depend on him to give them a fair hearing, and a fuddled judge gives the wrong ruling. The harm of his private habit falls on the weakest.

שתה · shatah · drink

The ordinary verb for drinking. It returns in verse 7 for a different drinker.

שכח · shakach · forget

To let slip from the mind. The same verb is used in verse 7, where forgetting is a mercy; here it is a disaster.

חקק · chaqaq · engrave, enact

To cut into stone, and so to enact as law. What has been 'engraved' is the statute the king is supposed to uphold.

שנה · shanah · change, alter

To change something into something else. He alters what the ruling should have been.

דין · din · legal case, just verdict

A legal case and the fair judgment a person is entitled to in it.

בני עני · benei oni · sons of affliction

Literally 'sons of affliction', people whose whole condition is hardship. Oni is from the same root as ani, the poor person of verse 9.

The king was the highest court in the land. Anyone who could not get justice locally could bring the case to him, as the women did with Solomon in 1 Kings 3. Widows, orphans and the poor had no money or influence, so the king's clear judgment was their only protection.

Proverbs 31:6

Strong drink is for someone who is dying. Wine is for someone whose life is full of pain.

Give strong drink to the one who is perishing,

If drink has a use, it is for those at the end: the dying or the ruined, for whom it dulls pain. The contrast is with the king, who has work to do and must stay clear.

and wine to those whose life is bitter.

The same thought for people in deep misery. This is not general advice to drink away sorrow. It is a way of saying that drink belongs with those who have nothing left to decide, not with the man who decides for everyone.

שכר · shekar · strong drink, beer

The drink the ruler was told not to crave in verse 4.

אבד · abad · perish, be lost

To be lost or ruined, to be dying.

יין · yayin · wine

As in verse 4. The two drinks are named in reverse order here.

נפש · nephesh · soul, whole self

The whole inner person. 'Bitter of nephesh' describes Hannah in her grief (1 Samuel 1:10).

מר · mar · bitter

Bitter in taste, and so of deep distress.

Proverbs 31:7

Let that person drink and forget how poor he is, and stop thinking about his troubles.

Let him drink and forget his poverty

The same two verbs as verse 5, drink and forget, with the opposite effect. When the king forgets, the poor lose their case. When the sufferer forgets, he loses only his pain for a while.

and no longer remember his misery.

The second line restates forgetting as not remembering. The implied lesson for Lemuel is sharp: do not use the comfort of the wretched as your pleasure, and do not make more people wretched by using it.

שתה · shatah · drink

Repeated from verse 5.

שכח · shakach · forget

The verb of verse 5. What a king must never forget is the law; what a sufferer may forget is his suffering.

ריש · resh · poverty

The word Agur used in his prayer in 30:8.

זכר · zakar · remember, call to mind

To keep in mind. The natural opposite of shakach.

עמל · amal · toil, misery

Wearying labor and the misery that goes with it. A frequent word in Ecclesiastes.

Proverbs 31:8

Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Make sure those with no one to help them are treated fairly.

Open your mouth for the one who cannot speak,

After two things not to do comes the one thing to do. A king's mouth is not for wine; it is for speaking on behalf of people who cannot make themselves heard. The 'mute' are those with no standing or skill to argue their own case.

for the cause of all who are fading away.

The second line says what he is to speak for: their legal claim. These are people who would simply disappear if no one took up their case.

פתח · patach · open

To open, as a door. A command here and again in verse 9; in verse 26 the capable woman does it.

פה · peh · mouth

The king's mouth could drink (verse 4) or speak. His mother tells him what it is for.

אלם · illem · mute

Unable to speak. Used here of people who have no voice in court, not of a physical condition.

דין · din · legal case, just verdict

The word of verse 5. What drink would make him twist is exactly what he is told to defend.

בני חלוף · benei chalof · sons of passing away

Chalof is from a verb meaning to pass on or vanish. The phrase occurs only here.

'Sons of passing away' is found nowhere else, and versions differ: 'unfortunate', 'destitute', 'appointed to die', 'left desolate'. All take it as people who are being swept away and have no one to stop it.

Proverbs 31:9

Speak up and be a fair judge. Stand up for people who are poor and in need.

Open your mouth, give right judgments,

The command is repeated and taken a step further. In verse 8 he was to speak for them as an advocate. Now he is to rule as a judge, and to rule rightly.

and take up the case of the poor and needy.

This states the purpose of his whole office. His mother's advice ends here: power is given so that those without it get justice. Everything she warned him against is whatever would get in the way of this.

פתח · patach · open

The same command as verse 8, repeated for emphasis.

שפט · shafat · judge, govern

To decide cases and so to govern. The noun mishpat, justice, comes from it.

צדק · tsedeq · what is right

A noun: 'judge rightness'. Verdicts that match God's standard, one of the aims of the book in 1:3.

דין · din · plead the case of

Here din is a verb: to argue or decide a case in someone's favor. The third use of the root in five verses.

עני · ani · afflicted, poor

The one bowed down by hardship. The capable woman reaches out to the same person in verse 20.

אביון · evyon · one in want

The one who lacks and must ask. The usual partner of ani.

Proverbs 31:10

A really good wife is hard to find. She is worth far more than jewels.

A woman of strength, who can find one?

The poem opens with a question that means she is rare and precious, not that she does not exist. Proverbs has spoken of finding wisdom and finding a wife as great gains (3:13, 18:22); here the two come together in one person.

Her value is far beyond red coral.

The comparison is with the costliest thing people traded. The same was said of wisdom herself in 3:15 and 8:11. From the first verse the poet hints that this woman is what wisdom looks like when it runs a household.

אשת חיל · eshet chayil · woman of strength

Ishah is woman or wife; chayil is strength, ability, substance, valor. The phrase is used of Ruth (Ruth 3:11) and in Proverbs 12:4. A man described this way is a 'mighty man of valor'.

מצא · matsa · find

The same verb as 'finds a wife, finds a good thing' in 18:22 and 'finds wisdom' in 3:13.

מכר · meker · price, value

From makar, to sell: the price something would fetch. The verb appears in verse 24, where she is the one selling.

פנינים · peninim · corals, rubies

A precious material that was red (Lamentations 4:7), probably coral, though some say rubies or pearls. Used in 3:15 for what wisdom outvalues.

Verses 10 to 31 are an acrostic. The 22 verses begin with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order: aleph, bet, gimel, dalet, he, vav, zayin, chet, tet, yod, kaf, lamed, mem, nun, samek, ayin, pe, tsade, qof, resh, shin, tav. The form made the poem easy to memorize and signals completeness: her praise from A to Z. It also explains why the verses do not follow a strict logical order.

'Excellent', 'virtuous', 'capable' and 'noble' are all attempts at chayil, and each loses part of it. The word is used of armies and warriors, and the poem keeps the military color: 'plunder' in verse 11, 'prey' in verse 15, girding with strength in verse 17. 'Woman of valor' is the closest plain equivalent.

Proverbs 31:11

Her husband trusts her with all his heart. With her, he has everything he needs.

Her husband's heart relies on her,

The first thing said about her is that she can be trusted. Her husband does not have to check on her or worry about what she is doing with the household. In Scripture this kind of trust is usually reserved for God, which shows how high the praise is.

and he never goes short of gain.

This is the result of the first line. Because she manages well, the family prospers. The word for gain is a soldier's word, which makes her sound like a successful commander bringing home the spoils.

לב · lev · heart, mind

The inner person: thought, will and feeling together. His trust is settled, not anxious.

בעל · ba'al · husband, owner

The usual word for a husband as head of the house. It appears three times in the poem, each time receiving something from her.

בטח · batach · rely on, feel secure

To lean your weight on something and feel safe. The verb behind betach, security, in 1:33.

חסר · chaser · be without

To be short of something. The verb in 'I shall not want' in Psalm 23:1.

שלל · shalal · plunder, spoil

The word for war booty, used of the gang's loot in 1:13. There it was stolen; here it is the honest profit her ability brings in.

Proverbs 31:12

She does good things for him and never hurts him, every day of her life.

She repays him with good and not harm

Her effect on him is wholly positive. 'Good and not harm' rules out the mixed record most relationships have.

all the days of her life.

The good is not limited to the early years or to when things go well. It is steady for a lifetime. Trustworthiness in verse 11 is matched here by constancy.

גמל · gamal · deal out, repay

To deal with someone, to render to them. It also means to ripen fruit and to wean a child: bringing something to completion.

טוב · tov · good, benefit

What is beneficial and pleasant. Proverbs 18:22 calls a wife a 'good thing' with the same word.

רע · ra · bad, harmful

The broad word for harm or what is bad. Here it means injury or trouble, not moral evil in particular.

חיים · chayyim · life

Life, always plural in Hebrew. The phrase is 'all the days of her life', so the commitment is measured by her lifespan.

Proverbs 31:13

She picks out wool and other thread for making cloth. She loves to work with her hands.

She searches out wool and flax

Now the poem turns to what she actually does. She starts with raw materials and chooses them carefully. Wool and flax are the two fibers from which nearly all clothing was made.

and works with willing hands.

The point is her attitude. She is not driven to the work; her hands take pleasure in it. The Hebrew says she works 'with the delight of her palms'.

דרש · darash · seek out, inquire

To seek with care, to investigate. She does not take whatever is at hand; she selects.

צמר · tsemer · wool

Sheep's wool, the fiber for warm outer clothing.

פשתים · pishtim / pesheth · flax

Flax, whose stalks were soaked, beaten and spun into linen thread.

כף · kaf · palm, open hand

The palm or hollow of the hand. The poem alternates this word with yad, hand.

חפץ · chefets · pleasure, willingness

What a person takes pleasure in or wants to do. Her hands do the work gladly.

Making cloth was the main industry of the ancient household. Fiber had to be cleaned, combed, spun into thread, woven on a loom and sewn. A family that could do this well clothed itself and had goods to sell.

Proverbs 31:14

She is like a ship that sails far away to bring good things home. She goes a long way to get food for her family.

She is like the trading ships;

A comparison that enlarges her. Merchant ships go a long way to bring back goods that are not available at home.

she brings her food in from far away.

This explains the picture. She does not settle for what is nearest and easiest. She looks further afield to supply the house with better and more varied provisions.

אניות סוחר · oniyyot socher · ships of a trader

Oniyyah is a ship (as in 30:19); socher is a travelling trader. The noun for her 'profit' in verse 18 is from the same root as socher.

לחם · lechem · bread, food

Bread, and so provisions in general.

מרחק · merchaq · a distant place

From rachoq, far, the word used in verse 10 for her value being 'far' above coral.

Proverbs 31:15

She gets up while it is still dark. She makes food for her family and gives her helpers what they need for the day.

She gets up while it is still night

She is first up, before daylight. Her day is arranged around other people's needs.

and provides food for her household

The reason for the early start is that everyone will need to eat before work begins. The word for food is the word for a hunter's catch, continuing the picture of her as a provider who goes out and brings back.

and the day's allotment for her servant girls.

She also sees to her staff. This is either their share of food or their assigned tasks for the day. Either way she is managing people, not doing everything alone, and the servants are cared for and not only used.

קום · qum · get up, stand

To rise. In verse 28 her children 'rise up' with the same verb to honor her.

לילה · laylah · night

She is up before the night ends here, and her lamp burns into the night in verse 18.

טרף · teref · prey, food

Normally what a predator has torn: prey. Used for food here, it is another of the poem's strong, almost military words. Agur's 'feed me' in 30:8 is from the same root.

בית · bayit · house, household

The house and all the people who belong to it: family, servants and dependents.

חק · choq · prescribed share

Something fixed and assigned. The word Agur used for his 'allotted' bread in 30:8.

נערה · na'arah · girl, young woman

The feminine of na'ar, a youth. Here the young women who serve in the house.

Choq means an assigned amount. Some versions take it as portions of food for the servant girls, others as the tasks set for them. The Hebrew allows both.

Proverbs 31:16

She looks at a field, thinks it over, and buys it. With money she has earned, she plants grapes there.

She sets her mind on a field and acquires it;

She makes a major purchase, and the order matters: she thinks first, then buys. This is planned investment, and she has the authority and the means to carry it out herself.

with what her hands have earned she plants a vineyard.

The money comes from her own previous work, and she puts it into something that will produce for years. A vineyard takes time to yield, so this is long-term thinking.

זמם · zamam · plan, purpose

To think something through with intent. Often used of plotting harm (as in 30:32); here it is the good sense of the root behind mezimmah, the foresight of 1:4.

שדה · sadeh · field, open land

A piece of farmland outside the town.

לקח · laqach · take, acquire

Literally 'takes'. The common verb for taking is used for acquiring property.

פרי כפיה · peri kappeiha · fruit of her palms

Peri is fruit, kaf is palm: what her hands have produced. 'Fruit of her hands' returns in the last verse of the poem.

נטע · nata · plant

To set plants in the ground.

כרם · kerem · vineyard

A plot of grapevines. A sign of settled prosperity in Israel.

Proverbs 31:17

She gets ready to work hard. Her arms are strong.

She belts strength around her waist

Tying up the long robe at the waist was how a person got ready for hard work or battle. What she ties on is strength itself. She goes at her work with energy and resolve.

and puts power into her arms.

The second line moves from readiness to exertion. This is physical work and she is physically strong. Strength in a woman is praised here without any embarrassment.

חגר · chagar · gird, belt on

To fasten a belt around oneself. Soldiers gird on a sword with this verb.

מתנים · motnayim · loins, waist

The middle of the body where the belt sits, thought of as the seat of strength.

עז · oz · strength, might

Power and firmness. It comes back in verse 25 as her clothing.

זרוע · zeroa · arm

The arm, the standard picture of power to act.

אמץ · amats · be strong, make firm

To be firm and bold. The verb in the charge to Joshua: be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:6).

People wore long loose robes. For running, fighting or heavy work the skirt was pulled up and tucked into a belt, which was called girding the loins (1 Kings 18:46). The phrase came to mean getting ready for serious effort.

Proverbs 31:18

She can see that her work is going well. Her lamp is still shining late at night.

She finds by tasting that her trade is good;

She checks her results. Like a cook tasting the dish, she tests whether her business is doing well, and it is. Her confidence rests on evidence.

her lamp does not go out at night.

Seeing good results spurs her on, and she works into the evening. A lamp that stays lit was also a sign of a house that was prosperous and alive, so the line may say as much about her home's wellbeing as about her hours.

טעם · ta'am · taste, perceive

To taste, and so to find out by trying. The verb in 'taste and see that the LORD is good' (Psalm 34:8).

סחר · sachar · trade, gain from trade

Merchandise and the gain it brings. Wisdom's 'profit' is called this in 3:14. From the same root as the merchant in verse 14.

נר · ner · lamp

A small clay oil lamp. In Proverbs the lamp of the wicked goes out (13:9, 24:20); hers does not.

כבה · kavah · be quenched

To be extinguished, of a fire or lamp.

Proverbs 31:19

Her hands are busy spinning wool into thread.

She puts her hands to the distaff,

A close-up of her spinning thread. For all her buying and trading she still does the basic manual work herself.

and her palms hold the spindle.

The second line completes the picture of both hands busy with the tools. The verse is tied to the next one: the Hebrew words for hand and palm appear here and are repeated in reverse order in verse 20.

שלח · shalach · send out, reach

To send or stretch out. The identical phrase, 'she stretches out her hands', appears in verse 20 toward the needy.

יד · yad · hand

The usual word for hand. The second line switches to kaf, palm.

כישור · kishor · spinning tool

The word occurs only here in the Bible. It is some part of the spinning equipment; 'distaff' is the traditional rendering.

תמך · tamak · hold fast

To take firm hold of and keep hold.

פלך · pelek · spindle

The weighted stick that is twirled to twist fibers into thread.

Thread was spun by hand. Combed fiber was held on a stick (the distaff), drawn out with the fingers, and twisted by a spinning weighted rod (the spindle) that also wound up the finished thread. It was slow work that filled every spare moment.

Because kishor is found only here, its exact meaning is not certain. Some take it as the distaff, others as the spindle whorl (the weight on the spindle). The general sense, that she spins with her own hands, is clear.

Proverbs 31:20

She opens those same hands to give to poor people. She reaches out to anyone in need.

She opens her palm to the poor

The hands that worked in verse 19 now give. An open palm is the picture of generosity, the opposite of a closed fist. Her industry is not just for her own family's gain.

and reaches out her hands to the needy.

The phrase 'reaches out her hands' is word for word the opening of verse 19. The same hands and the same motion serve the spindle and the poor. The poet places the two verses back to back so that work and charity are seen as one life.

פרש · paras · spread out, open wide

To spread open. Used of spreading out the hands in prayer.

כף · kaf · palm, open hand

The palm that held the spindle at the end of verse 19 opens to the poor at the start of verse 20.

עני · ani · afflicted, poor

The same person the king is told to defend in verse 9. She does at home what he is to do in court.

שלח · shalach · send out, reach

The same verb and phrase as verse 19.

אביון · evyon · one in want

The partner of ani, as in verse 9. Deuteronomy 15:11 commands opening the hand to both.

English cannot show the pattern. Verse 19 has hand (yad) then palm (kaf); verse 20 has palm (kaf) then hand (yad). The crossed order locks the two verses together at the center of the poem.

Proverbs 31:21

When it snows, she is not worried about her family. They all have fine, warm clothes.

She has no fear for her household when it snows,

Winter in the hill country can be bitterly cold, and snow does fall. She is not anxious about it. This is not carelessness but the calm of someone who prepared in advance.

because everyone in her house is dressed in scarlet.

This is why she is calm. The clothes are already made, and they are good ones. Scarlet cloth was expensive dyed wool, so her family is not only warm but well dressed.

ירא · yare · fear

The verb to fear. She does not fear the snow; verse 30 says what she does fear, using the same root.

שלג · sheleg · snow

Snow falls some winters in Jerusalem and the hills.

בית · bayit · house, household

Used twice in the verse. Her provision covers every member of the house.

לבש · lavash · put on, wear

The verb to dress. The related noun levush, clothing, appears in verses 22 and 25.

שני · shani · scarlet cloth

Cloth dyed bright red with a dye made from an insect. Used in the tabernacle curtains (Exodus 26:1).

Scarlet is a color and does not obviously keep out cold. The ancient Greek translation read the same consonants as 'double', giving 'clothed in double layers'. The Hebrew text as it stands says scarlet, which implies fine wool garments.

Proverbs 31:22

She makes covers for her bed. Her own clothes are lovely, made of fine purple cloth.

She makes bed coverings for herself;

Having provided for everyone else, she also furnishes her own home and bed with things she has made. Looking after herself is part of the picture.

her clothing is fine linen and purple.

She dresses in the best materials available: imported linen and the dye of royalty. The poem does not treat this as vanity. It is the visible fruit of her skill and prosperity.

מרבדים · marvaddim · bed coverings

Spreads or covers for a couch. The only other use is in Proverbs 7:16.

לבוש · levush · garment, clothing

From lavash, to wear. The word returns in verse 25 for a different kind of garment.

שש · shesh · fine white linen

High-quality linen, originally an Egyptian product. Joseph is dressed in it in Genesis 41:42.

ארגמן · argaman · purple cloth

Wool dyed red-purple. Worn by kings (Judges 8:26).

Purple dye was extracted in tiny amounts from sea snails along the Phoenician coast, and it took thousands of snails to dye one garment. Purple cloth was therefore worth more than its weight in silver and marked wealth and rank.

Proverbs 31:23

Everyone knows her husband. He sits with the leaders of the land at the town gate.

Her husband is recognized at the city gates

This is the one verse about him alone, and it sits in a poem about her for a reason. His public standing is presented as one of her achievements.

when he takes his seat with the elders of the land.

He is one of the men who govern the town. Her management of the home frees him for this role, and the quality of his household and dress adds to his reputation. Proverbs 12:4 says a woman of strength is her husband's crown.

בעל · ba'al · husband, owner

The second of three appearances. In verse 11 he trusted her; here he benefits in public.

ידע · yada · know, recognize

To be known, in the sense of being recognized and respected.

שער · sha'ar · city gate

The place of public business and judgment. It returns in the last line of the poem.

ישב · yashav · sit, dwell

To sit, here in the official sense of taking a seat on the council.

זקן · zaqen · elder

Literally an old man, and so a senior man who shares in governing the community.

The space inside a city gate served as the town hall and law court. The elders sat there to hear disputes, witness contracts and settle local affairs, as in Ruth 4:1-2. To be known there meant to be a person of standing.

Proverbs 31:24

She makes clothes and belts and sells them to the shopkeepers.

She makes linen garments and sells them,

Her production goes beyond what the family needs. She makes quality goods for the market and handles the sale herself.

and supplies sashes to the merchants.

She deals with professional traders, who carry her goods further. She is a producer in a commercial network, bringing income into the house.

סדין · sadin · linen wrap

A fine linen garment worn next to the body. Samson wagers thirty of them in Judges 14:12.

מכר · makar · sell

The verb behind 'worth' (meker) in verse 10. She whose value is beyond price knows how to sell.

חגור · chagor · belt, sash

From chagar, to gird, the verb of verse 17. A woven sash, often an ornate and valuable item.

כנעני · kena'ani · merchant; Canaanite

Literally 'the Canaanite'. The Canaanites of the coast, the Phoenicians, were such well-known traders that the word came to mean merchant.

Proverbs 31:25

She is strong, and people respect her. Those are like the clothes she wears. She can smile when she thinks about the days to come.

Strength and splendor are what she wears,

After the linen and purple of verse 22 comes her real clothing. What people notice about her is her character: she is strong, and she carries herself with honor.

and she laughs at the days to come.

She faces the future without dread. This is the result of everything before: she has worked, planned, stored and given, and she fears the LORD, so what lies ahead does not frighten her. It is the same calm as verse 21, applied to the whole future.

עז · oz · strength, might

The strength she belted on in verse 17 is now her garment.

הדר · hadar · splendor, honor

Majesty or splendor. Used of the honor of kings and of God (Psalm 104:1).

לבוש · levush · garment, clothing

The same noun as verse 22. Linen and purple are her outer dress; strength and honor are what she truly wears.

שחק · sachaq · laugh

To laugh. The verb used of Wisdom laughing in 1:26; here it is the laughter of someone with nothing to fear.

יום אחרון · yom acharon · the day to come

Literally 'a later day'. Whatever comes afterward: old age, hard times, the unknown.

Proverbs 31:26

When she speaks, her words are wise. She teaches others in a kind way.

She opens her mouth with wisdom,

The poem turns from her hands to her speech. When she talks, what comes out is wise. This places her among the teachers of the book, like Lemuel's mother at the start of the chapter.

and faithful, kind instruction is on her tongue.

The second line gives the manner of her speech. She teaches, and her teaching is marked by loyal kindness. She is neither silent nor harsh. Those under her care are instructed in a way that shows she is for them.

פתח · patach · open

The verb the king was commanded with in verses 8 and 9. She does what he was told to do.

פה · peh · mouth

As in verses 8 and 9.

חכמה · chokmah · skill

The key word of the book, stated here outright. Everything she has done in the poem is chokmah, skill at living.

תורה · torah · direction, instruction

The word used for a mother's teaching in 1:8 and 6:20. The book begins and ends with a mother's torah.

חסד · chesed · loyal love

Faithful, committed love, the kind that keeps its obligations. 'Torah of chesed' can mean teaching given kindly or teaching about kindness.

לשון · lashon · tongue

The tongue as the organ of speech. Proverbs says life and death are in its power (18:21).

Proverbs 31:27

She keeps an eye on everything that goes on in her home. She is never lazy.

She keeps watch over the comings and goings of her household

She pays attention. She knows what is going on in her house, who is doing what and how things are running. The verb is the one used for a sentry on a wall.

and does not eat the bread of laziness.

The negative restates the positive. She does not live off others' work or let things slide. Laziness is one of the book's main vices, and she is the opposite of the sluggard.

צפה · tsafah · keep watch

To look out, as a watchman does. The noun for a city watchman comes from this verb.

הליכה · halikah · goings, ways

From halak, to walk: the goings-on, how the household conducts itself.

בית · bayit · house, household

The last of its appearances. She has fed it, clothed it and now oversees it.

לחם · lechem · bread, food

To 'eat the bread of' something is to live by it. She does not live by idleness.

עצלות · atslut · sluggishness

The noun from atsel, the sluggard who is mocked throughout Proverbs (6:6, 26:13-16).

Proverbs 31:28

Her children stand up and say how good she is. Her husband praises her too.

Her children stand up and call her blessed;

The poem now reports what those closest to her say. Standing is a gesture of respect. The people who know her best, and have seen her every day, are the ones who honor her.

her husband too, and he praises her:

Her husband joins in. He trusted her in verse 11 and gained from her in verse 23; now he says so aloud. His words follow in verse 29.

בן · ben · son, child

Literally 'her sons', which in the plural includes all her children.

קום · qum · get up, stand

The verb of verse 15. She rose in the dark for them; now they rise for her.

אשר · ashar · call happy

To pronounce someone fortunate. It is the verb behind ashrei, 'blessed is the one who', as in 3:13 of the person who finds wisdom.

בעל · ba'al · husband, owner

His third and last appearance.

הלל · halal · praise

To praise or boast about. The root of hallelujah. It appears in each of the last four verses but one.

Proverbs 31:29

He says, Lots of women do great things, but you are the best of them all!

Many women have shown great ability,

The husband's words. He does not run other women down to raise her up. He grants that many are capable.

but you rise above them all.

Then he says that to him she surpasses every one. He speaks to her directly, as 'you'. It is the only line in the poem addressed to her.

בת · bat · daughter, woman

'Daughters' is a Hebrew way of saying women, as in 'daughters of Jerusalem'.

עשה חיל · asah chayil · do valiantly

Literally 'have done chayil', the word of verse 10. The same phrase is used of an army fighting bravely (Psalm 60:12).

עלה · alah · go up, ascend

To go up. She has 'gone up over' them all.

Proverbs 31:30

Being charming can fool people, and being pretty does not last. But a woman who respects God should be praised.

Charm is a lie and beauty is a breath,

The two things most often prized in a woman are set aside. Charm can mislead, because a pleasing manner tells you nothing about the person. Beauty is real but does not last. Neither is a sound basis for judging her worth.

but a woman who fears the LORD, she is the one to be praised.

This is the key to the whole poem and the last word of the book. Her industry, generosity and wisdom all come from here. Proverbs began by saying the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge (1:7) and ends by showing a person who has it.

חן · chen · grace, attractiveness

Grace or favor: the quality that makes a person pleasing. Elsewhere in Proverbs it is good (1:9); the warning is against trusting it alone.

שקר · sheqer · a lie, falsehood

A noun: charm is 'a lie'. It promises something that may not be there.

הבל · hevel · breath, vapor

A puff of breath, something that is gone almost at once. It is the word translated 'vanity' throughout Ecclesiastes.

יראה · yir'ah · reverent awe

The word of 1:7 and 9:10. Reverence for God that shapes how a person lives. It frames the entire book.

יהוה · YHWH · God's covenant name

The only mention of God in the poem, held back until this verse so that it lands as the explanation of everything before it.

הלל · halal · praise

The verb of verse 28. Her husband praises her; the poet says she deserves it.

Proverbs 31:31

Let her enjoy the good things she has worked for. Let the whole town praise her for all she has done.

Give her a share in what her hands have produced,

A call to the community. She has earned much for others; she should enjoy the results herself and be credited for them. The 'fruit of her hands' echoes verse 16, where she invested it.

and let what she has done praise her at the city gates.

The final line. No one needs to invent compliments, because her work speaks for itself. And it should be heard in the gates, the public place where in verse 23 only her husband was known. The poem ends by giving her the public honor she has earned.

פרי · peri · fruit, produce

Fruit: what something yields. In 1:31 fools eat the fruit of their way; here the wise woman receives the fruit of her hands.

יד · yad · hand

The last mention of her hands, which have worked, invested, spun and given throughout the poem.

מעשה · ma'aseh · deeds, what is made

From asah, to do or make. Everything she has done and produced.

הלל · halal · praise

The third use. Husband, poet and now her own deeds praise her.

שער · sha'ar · city gate

The gates of verse 23. In chapter 1 Wisdom called out at the gates (1:21); the book ends with a wise woman honored there.