Who can find a woman of worth? for her price is far above rubies.
The last twenty-two verses of Proverbs paint a portrait of a wife of worth, and they open with a question rather than a description: can such a woman be found at all? The commentators below work from an older translation that reads, "Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies," so their comments turn on the words "virtuous" and "rubies."
Translators render this word in more than one way, and Scripture uses it elsewhere for "worthy."
"Who can find a virtuous woman?" or "worthy woman," or "woman of worth," as some would read it. Elsewhere this word is translated 'worthy' (see Ruth 4:11; 1 Kings 1:52). The dictionaries say it means able, brave; or perhaps it holds something of all three meanings — virtuous, brave, able. Who can find such a woman? "For her price is far above rubies" — the most precious gem known to the ancients.
Another writer takes the meaning from the chapter itself, and points to where such a character comes from.
Clearly, virtue here does not only mean moral purity. It covers every mark of faithfulness, diligence and dependability that the chapter sets out. How refreshing to see these qualities in a woman, even in some measure! But this is impossible unless the grace of God has worked in her heart. No amount of money could ever repay her worth.
One writer points out that the man who probably wrote this description never found his answer.
Proverbs 31 — probably written by Solomon — describes the ideal woman in great detail, the woman whose "price is far above rubies." Yet he never found her. "One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found" (Eccl. 7:28). But God could have found one for him!
Scripture uses this stone as a measure of value, and sets both wisdom and this woman above it.
We do not know for certain which precious stone this word means. Scripture names it as a symbol of great value: "the price of wisdom is above rubies," and the value of a virtuous woman is far above rubies (Job 28:18; Proverbs 3:15; 8:11; 20:15; 31:10).
Most people today rank the diamond first.
Many people think the diamond is the rarest and costliest of gems, but that is a mistake. The precious ruby is worth six or seven times as much as the diamond. People in ancient times knew the diamond, yet Scripture always puts the ruby first. "Her price is far above rubies"; "the price of wisdom is above rubies," it says. The old Book is right about gems, you see, as it is about everything it touches.
This verse begins a poem built on the Hebrew alphabet, and what comes just before it matters.
Proverbs 31:10-31 is of exceptional excellence. Its order is perfect. Each following verse begins with the next letter of the alphabet, in order. Notice that this acrostic, which describes the woman of worth, the virtuous and hard-working wife, comes straight after "the words" of the king who was set apart, or devoted, to God.
One writer sets this alphabet beside a title of Christ.
Christ Himself is "the Alpha and the Omega" (the A to Z, in English), using up human language, as it were, in the effort to tell the endless glories of His person... And here, in this description of the one meant to represent His church, His bride, the whole alphabet is used to express her moral and household virtues and her excellence as a woman.
Commentators differ here. Some apply the picture to those who belong to Christ:
The word virtuous here has the sense of devoted and thrifty; she is a woman who holds in high regard the position she has through her relationship with her husband. In the light of this we might well ask ourselves: how much do we value the high dignity we have, now that we have been brought into association with Christ?
Others leave the picture as it stands:
There is no need to read this description as a picture of the Church, as some have done. But this virtuous woman stands out brightly against the descriptions of "the strange woman," the adulteress mentioned again and again in Proverbs.
- Worth. The word for "virtuous" also means worthy, able and brave. It points to strength of character, not just a clean record.
- Rare. The verse is a question. The man who described her never found her — but God could have found one for him.
- Grace. Faithfulness, diligence and dependability like this grow only where the grace of God works in the heart.
- Priceless. Scripture puts the ruby first among gems, then sets both wisdom and this woman above it. No money can match her.
- Complete. From this verse on, each letter of the Hebrew alphabet opens a new line of her praise — the same A-to-Z picture Scripture uses of Christ Himself.
The heart of her husband confideth in her, and he shall have no lack of spoil.
The closing poem of Proverbs paints a wife worth more than jewels, and the first thing said of her is her husband's trust. Commentators read the verse on two levels: a real marriage, and a picture of Christ and the people He left in charge of His interests.
The verse does not say his money is safe with her, or his reputation. It names the organ of affection as the place where the trust sits.
Notice that it is His heart that trusts in her — the seat of the affections. It is not so much His goods and her care for them that He is most concerned about, but her love; this is what He prizes above all. For what would be the industry, the thrift, and all else, without this first good and basic spring of all the rest?
The word "safely" in the older wording carries weight. A husband may trust and still be ruined. Proverbs has already shown the opposite kind of wife.
This loyal wife's opposite is the woman with the bold face in chapter 7. Her husband was away too: she tells her yielding victim that he has gone on a long journey, has taken a bag of money with him, and will come home on the day he set. Her husband, too, trusted her, perhaps, but he did not safely trust. She shamefully deceived him and proved herself untrue.
Older translations end the verse with "no need of spoil," which the ESV puts as "no lack of gain." One writer asks what price could ever repay such a wife.
No material price can ever repay her. The precious red ruby, or many of them together, cannot compare with her worth. But are we not given a veiled hint here? Her value is measured only by the precious blood of Christ, the price of her redemption. It is He Himself who has placed this value upon her. His heart safely trusts in her, and He will have no lack of spoil — no lack of gain through her.
Where does a woman like this come from? Commentators trace her to God, not to luck.
If house and wealth are an inheritance of fathers, as it generally was in Israel, a prudent wife was from Jehovah. What would all the rest be worth, however fine or plentiful, if the meekness of wisdom were missing in the woman who shared it all? If everything else were lacking, what comfort and happiness to have one given by Jehovah, with His light within her and around her!
Another writer traces the character itself to the same source.
How refreshing to see these qualities in a woman in any good measure. But it is impossible apart from the grace of God having worked in her heart.
In this picture the husband is away from home, and one writer sees the Lord Himself in that absence.
We say absent husband, because he is clearly away from home here. What a fitting picture this is of our Lord while He is away from earth now. Like the nobleman in the parable, He has gone to a far country to receive a kingdom for Himself and then to return. While He is away, His heart can safely trust the one He has left to look after His interests till He comes again.
Does the church as a whole match this picture? One writer says no, and turns instead to each believer.
The church, as a responsible witness to Christ, has proved a sad failure; she has neglected His affairs. Yet despite this collective failure, Christ looks to each one of us to be faithful to Him. His heart safely trusts that we will seek only what concerns Him.
- Priced. No price matches her. One writer hears a hint of the true measure: the blood of Christ, the price of her redemption.
- Trusted. What rests on her is her husband's heart — his affection, not just his goods. Her love is the spring of all her industry and thrift.
- Safe. The woman of chapter 7 had a trusting husband too, and she deceived him. This wife never betrays that trust.
- Given. Wealth may come from parents. A prudent wife comes from the Lord, and grace alone works such a heart.
- Gaining. The absent Husband will have no lack of gain. The church as a whole has failed Him, yet He looks to each believer to seek only what concerns Him.
She doeth him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.
One line sums up the whole portrait: her effect on her husband is good, never harmful, and it lasts for life. Commentators read it on two levels: a real marriage, and the care of Christ's interests while He is away.
The verse says two things, not one. Avoiding damage is only half of it.
She will not only keep away from harmful things; she "will do Him good," like the good servant who reports to his master that his pound has gained ten pounds. She is too busy with good to have time even for worthless things, let alone evil ones. And this goes on "all the days of her life": she never grows weary of diligent devotion.
Why is her good so valuable? Because of her position. No one else stands close enough to help him the way she can. If she is faithful, she can say things he would not take from anyone else.
Certainly no one else has such a chance to know him closely and to help him. She can help as no one else can. And if she is for God, what a treasure she is to her husband, who might resent faithfulness in anyone else! What a favour from Jehovah!
Her help does not depend on her being the lesser partner. Kelly points to this chapter as the full portrait of such a woman. Even where her gifts run past her husband's, she uses them to back him up.
If you want a full-length portrait of a woman of worth, you will find it in the last chapter of this book. Such a woman is not only a blessing but "a crown" to her husband. Even if she is ahead of him in natural gift or in spiritual life, she will still keep herself behind him. She gives real help under him as her head, and this brings good order among children and servants, and in the circle of their friends or foes too.
Kelly sets the other kind of wife beside her, and the harm he describes reaches into the man himself.
On the other hand, what a curse is the wife who brings shame, whatever the cause! It is an evil that always feels hopeless in itself. How truly it is described as "rottenness in his bones"!
Scripture gives a name to such a wife. It also says where a good wife comes from.
There are exceptions, as we well know. Sometimes wives become traps to their husbands. Jezebel, for instance, stirred up her husband Ahab to do evil (1 Kings 21:25). But Proverbs 31:10-31 gives a lovely contrast to that example of evil, and shows the great blessing of finding a virtuous woman. It is not a man's good character that earns him a virtuous wife. It is the favour (or grace) of the Lord that brings her to him.
Sometimes the good a wife does is a refusal. David was set on a course that would have dishonoured God. Abigail stepped in, and he blessed her for it.
Happy David! He has found a wife after his own heart. He blesses her, and he blesses her wisdom (1 Samuel 25:33). She is a true helper in the difficulties of his career. He blesses her for stopping him from doing evil that would have dishonoured his God.
Several writers read the whole passage as a picture of Christ and those who belong to Him while He is away. On that reading, doing Him good means caring about what He cares about. The honest question is how much of our time goes elsewhere.
Even early in the history of the church, the Apostle Paul wrote: "They all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 2:21). How much of our own interests fill our minds and take up our time! And how little we seek what is good and profitable for His interests. And are we not sometimes tied to things that bring loss to His interests and to ourselves rather than gain? It was not so with the virtuous woman.
That standard raises an obvious question: who lives up to it now?
But where, it may be asked, can this lovely quality of faithfulness to Christ be seen today? And a question it must remain! Taken as a whole, the picture is an ideal. There is no assembly or body of Christians anywhere on earth that would not have to say honestly: It is not in me.
- Close — no one else stands where she stands. Her nearness gives her a chance to help that no one else has.
- Good — she is not just harmless. She works for her husband's gain, too busy with good to have room for what is worthless.
- Not harm — Jezebel pushed her husband into evil. Doing good can mean holding a husband back, as Abigail held David back from dishonouring God.
- All the days — this is not a phase. Commentators stress there is no growing weary of steady devotion.
- For Him — many read the wife as a picture of Christ's people while He is away. Then the question is simple: do His interests fill our time, or do ours?
She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
Proverbs closes with a portrait of a wife, praised for seven qualities in turn. Verse 13 opens the part about her work, and the two things she gathers — wool and flax — carry as much meaning as the work itself.
The praise is ordered, not random. One writer counts the qualities and finds this verse opening the second:
The passage notes seven things about her — seven, the perfect number. Her faithfulness (vv. 11-12); Her industry (vv. 13-15); Her thrift (vv. 16-19); Her benevolence (v. 20); Her providence (vv. 21-25); Her moral excellences (vv. 26-27); and Her reward (vv. 28-31).
The poem also has a shape, and writers read the man and the woman in it as pictures:
This part of Scripture has various lessons to teach. Some apply to us as individuals. Others show the relationship of Israel and the church to Christ. In Scripture the man usually pictures the position God has given us. The woman shows the state or condition that belongs to that position. It is also interesting that these verses are written as an acrostic. Verse 10 begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each verse after it begins with the next letter in order.
Verse 13 falls to Daleth, the fourth letter of that alphabet. She buys no cloth. She hunts down the raw fibre and turns it into something usable, and that takes hours:
Proverbs 31:13 (Daleth). "She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands." This loving service was for the whole household. Her seeking suggests the effort to get what her willing hands could turn into useful material for her home. Think of the hand labour and the time it took to spin this raw material into yarn for making garments. Oh that like her, we might always be watchful in devoted service to others! They are Christ's, and our service is for Him.
The two fibres are not the same, and one writer finds a pair of qualities in them:
Her clothing is not ready made, and neither is the fabric. In the east it was common for women to weave the fabric and make the clothes for the family. Wool is for warmth, the product of the sheep, the sacrificial animal. This speaks of the "work and labour of love," warm and affectionate, which Hebrews 6:10 tells us God will not forget. Flax is the material for weaving "fine linen," and that garment is cool compared with the wool. Revelation 19:8 explains it for us: "the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints." With the wool, the hands perform a work and labour of love. The linen speaks instead of works of righteousness, which spring from a living faith. How good to see these two lovely qualities in balance! Her working "willingly" too is in lovely contrast to any spirit of legality.
The verse ends with how she works. She is not driven. She works with delight, and that changes the character of the labour:
HER INDUSTRY is noted next: "She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands."… In Christ Jesus it is "faith working through love." The loving partner here works 'willingly', or with delight, as Young translates it. True love must be active while even one need of the one it loves is still unmet. It must be up and doing for the one it loves. "The labour of love" is never drudgery, but a delight, as here.
Her energy has a definite address. She spends it on the people under her own roof:
The model woman has a house to keep. God's command for women who would please Him is that they be "pure" and "working at home" (see Titus 2:5)… Food and clothing for her household take all her time. She prepares the wool and flax for spinning and weaving, and food for her people. She also gives out work to her servant girls, and lets none of them live with her in idleness.
- Seeking. Her work starts before the working. She goes after the raw wool and flax, so hidden effort meets the household's needs.
- Warmth. Wool comes from the sheep, the sacrificial animal. It pictures the warm work and labour of love that God does not forget.
- Righteousness. Flax becomes fine linen. Revelation 19:8 explains this as the righteous deeds of the saints. It is good to see warmth and righteousness in balance.
- Willingness. She works with delight, not under pressure. Labour of love is never drudgery, and it is the opposite of a spirit of legality.
- Household. Her whole effort lands on her own household: clothing and food for her people, with no one left idle.
She is like the merchants' ships she bringeth her food from afar;
This verse sits in the closing poem of Proverbs, a portrait of a woman of worth. It likens her to trading ships that sail far away for supplies. Why must her household's food come from so far? What does that distance teach?
One writer sets out two ways to read the poem, and the pattern it is built on.
This part of Scripture has various lessons to teach. Some of them apply to us as individuals. Others show the relationship of Israel and the church to Christ. In Scripture the man usually pictures the position God has given us. The woman shows the state or condition that belongs to that position. It is also worth noticing that these verses form an acrostic: verse 10 begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each verse after it begins with the next letter in order.
Another writer notes that the husband in this poem is away from home, and sees Christ in the picture.
We say absent husband, because here he is plainly away from home. This is a fitting picture of our Lord, who is absent from earth now. Like the nobleman in the parable, He has gone to a far country to receive a kingdom for Himself and to return. While He is away, His heart can trust in her whom He has left to look after His interests until He comes again.
Ships fetch what a household cannot grow nearby. The picture holds for the soul as well.
The picture in verse 14 is excellent too. Merchants' ships bring food from long distances. In the same way, she draws her provision from beyond what she can see. Of course the spiritual meaning is what matters. The believer does not find food for his soul in his local circumstances. The world around him is a wilderness. It is from the very presence of God that we must draw what our souls need day by day. Prayer, dependence and meditation are the means by which we may do this.
Ships bring more than bulk. They bring a range of goods no local market has.
Every household needs food, and its variety and presentation stir the appetite. The merchants' ships bring food in quantity and variety from other lands. We get the rich variety of heavenly food for the saints by keeping in touch with the One who is in the glory. Then the Spirit of God enables us to serve what we have received in a fresh and helpful way, to meet the needs and satisfy the desires of God's people.
So what is in the cargo? One writer answers by following the phrase "from afar" through other passages.
"She brings her food from afar." This is food to eat that the world knows nothing of. It is "bread of heaven" — Christ ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven. The words "food from afar" remind us of Moses in his song before all the people of Israel: "May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew" (Deut. 32:2). "I will get my knowledge from afar", says Elihu, in Job 36:3. "The children's bread" is not fable or tradition, cleverly invented and craftily taught. It is "sound doctrine" drawn from the inerrant Word, the Holy Scriptures, inspired by God. Being "trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine" (1 Tim. 4:6) answers to this woman's "food from afar", the food she gives her household.
Long voyages cost effort, yet her work is never a burden. The same writer groups this verse with its neighbours under one heading.
HER INDUSTRY is noted next: "She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens." In Christ Jesus it is "faith working through love". The loving partner here works "willingly", or with delight, as Young's translation puts it. True love must keep working while even one need of the one it loves is still unmet. It must be up and doing. "The labour of love" is never drudgery, but rather a delight, as it is here.
- Absent. The husband in this poem is away. She does everything to care for his interests until he returns.
- Afar. Nothing local will feed her household. She fetches food from beyond what the eye can see, because the world around her is a wilderness.
- Means. The ships that make the journey are prayer, dependence and meditation. That is how a soul draws its daily supply from God's presence.
- Cargo. The cargo is not tradition or clever invention. It is sound teaching drawn from Scripture: Christ Himself, the bread of heaven.
- Delight. The voyage costs labour. Yet love with one need left to meet never calls the work drudgery.
And she riseth while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and the day's work to her maidens.
This verse catches the excellent wife at the one hour nobody sees her. She is up before dawn, while the house still sleeps. Commentators read the scene on two levels. It is a plain lesson in diligence. It is also a picture of care for others during the night of the Lord's rejection.
One writer finds more here than housekeeping, and notes how these closing verses of Proverbs are built.
This part of Scripture has several lessons to teach. Some apply to us as individuals. Others show the relationship of Israel and the church to Christ. In Scripture the man as a rule pictures the position God has given us. The woman shows the state or condition that goes with that position. It is also worth noticing the form of these verses. They make an acrostic: verse 10 begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each verse after it starts with the next letter in order.
She is up early for a reason. The meal is ready, so the day's work can start the moment there is light.
She rises before dawn and feeds her household, ready to begin work with the daylight. This is the opposite of laziness and self-indulgence, which sleeps longer than the body needs. Many true servants of God have valued every hour, as this woman did. They spent their time seeking food for the saints, to sustain them for the Christian life. How much of our thought and energy do we give to the things of Christ each day?
One writer ties her giving to what the soul has first received. He finds the same pattern in the Lord Jesus.
The soul that has learned from God is filled with the purest good. Does it not then delight in sharing with others, and in denying itself to do so? Early in the morning the people came to the temple to hear the Lord Jesus, in the days just before His death. How precious that readiness to give the Word of God to souls in need! For He spent the nights on the Mount of Olives; for the sake of others He would not spare Himself (Luke 21:37-38). So too the excellent woman will rise before the night has passed. She is concerned for her household and her maidens.
Another writer asks what drives all this work.
In Christ Jesus it is "faith working through love". The loving partner here works "willingly", or with delight, as Young translates it. True love must keep working while even one need of the one it loves is still unmet. It must be up and doing for the one it loves. "The labour of love" is never drudgery, but a delight, as it is here.
The verse ends with her maidens. One writer reads their "portions" as work she plans for them.
Food and clothing for her household take up all her time. She also assigns work to her maidservants, and lets none live with her in idleness.
And her rank over them does not put her above serving them:
Her maidens are of course servants, yet she also will serve them when occasion arises. Has not the Lord of Glory Himself in grace come among us as the One who serves?
One writer takes the night in this verse as more than a time of day. It marks where we now stand.
Night comes on, but her candle still burns. It was said above, "She rises while it is yet night." It is now the night of our Lord's rejection, and no time for sleeping. But the morning dawns, thank God. "The night is far gone; the day is at hand," the watchman calls. May we never let the little candle of our testimony grow dim or go out. May it shine on "till the day breaks and the shadows flee away."
- Night — she rises before dawn. Commentators read this as the night of the Lord's rejection: a time to keep the candle burning, not to sleep.
- Rising — she is up early on purpose. This is the opposite of laziness that sleeps longer than the body needs.
- Receiving — she gives what the soul first learned from God. The giving follows the learning.
- Feeding — the household eats before daylight, so work starts on time. God's servants do the same, seeking food to sustain the saints.
- Sharing — the maidens get a portion and a task, and she leaves none idle. She even serves her own servants, as the Lord of Glory came among us as the One who serves.
She considereth a field, and acquireth it; of the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
The woman of worth in this poem is not only busy at home — here she looks over a piece of land, buys it, and turns her own earnings into a vineyard. Commentators read this as practical wisdom about work and money, and also as a picture of how those who love Christ use the world.
The closing poem of Proverbs is a portrait in parts, and this verse begins a new part:
Seven things — the perfect number — are specifically noted of her. Her faithfulness (vv. 11-12); Her industry (vv. 13-15); Her thrift (vv. 16-19); Her benevolence (v. 20); Her providence (vv. 21-25); Her moral excellences (vv. 26-27); and Her reward (vv. 28-31).
One writer explains how wide the word behind "virtuous" is, and where such a life comes from.
Virtue here clearly does not only mean moral purity. It covers all the marks of faithfulness, diligence and dependability that the chapter describes. How refreshing to see in any good measure these qualities in a woman. But it is impossible apart from the grace of God having worked in her heart.
Notice the order of the two verbs. Thinking comes first, and only then the money changes hands.
The field was first considered — there was exercise. She did not act on the impulse of the moment, but only bought it after calm and careful deliberation. Then she paid the price and made it hers. Some lands on earth come to people by inheritance. But the church, at war on earth, must buy every square inch of ground it gains, and pay a high price for it — often in toil and tears, in money, and sometimes in blood, even life itself.
One writer starts from the word behind "buys" and follows the picture into the New Testament.
The word for "buys" here is really "acquires". She is busy seeking gain for her husband. She wants him to have the property, and she wants to make good use of it. In New Testament language, "the field is the world" (Matt. 13:38), and the Lord Jesus, in the sacrifice of Himself, "sold all that He had" to buy the field (Matt. 13:44). So the believer, joined to the Lord as by a marriage bond, has a very real title to this vast possession: "all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's" (1 Cor. 3:21-23). How important to insist that we are not the world's, but the world is ours. The world is only a servant for our use. We are not to be entangled by it, but to use it as far as it serves the interests of our Lord.
The same writer then turns this into a test of practice.
In practice we may not have looked at the world this way, as this woman did. So we may not have "acquired" it — that is, had it under our feet for the gain of our Lord. But "this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith" (1 John 5:4).
She could have left the field as it was. She saw what it could become, and she worked for someone else's sake.
Are we not rebuked by the diligence of this woman? As she looks at this field, she sees what it could be as a vineyard — something that will produce fruit for the one she loves. And there is nothing on-and-off about her work. Should our considerations on behalf of our Lord Jesus Christ be any less than this? Should we not be constantly on the watch to procure and to plant that which will bear fruit for the pleasure of the Lord?
Buying the ground is only the beginning. The work that follows calls for strength.
Once bought, the field must be "planted" with witnesses, local churches, or individual believers, so that it bears fruit for God. This calls for hard work. We must put on strength and make our arms strong, "strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might".
She plants the vineyard with the fruit of her hands. The chapter ends with her reward.
She is not only praised: she is also given the fruit of her own hands. The servants who gained by trading with their Master's pounds were allowed to keep what they had gained (Luke 19:24-26). In the same way, the goodness of God richly rewards those who have laboured truly for Him. We shall find that what we have gained for Him has really been for ourselves too.
- Consider — she thinks before she spends. She buys the field after careful thought, never on a sudden impulse.
- Buy — she pays for the field; she does not inherit it. Ground gained for Christ costs toil, tears and sometimes life itself.
- Own — the believer is not the world's. The world is ours, a servant we use for the Lord's interests, not a trap that holds us.
- Plant — a bought field is still bare ground. It needs witnesses planted in it to bear fruit, and that work takes real strength.
- Receive — she plants with the fruit of her hands, and in the end she is given the fruit of her hands. What we gain for Him turns out to be ours too.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and maketh strong her arms.
The last chapter of Proverbs paints a portrait of "a woman of worth," and here the picture turns to her strength. Older translations read "she girds her loins" — the picture of tying up long clothes before hard work — so where does that strength come from, and what is it for?
The phrase comes from everyday life in a land of long, loose clothing. Before hard work, people gathered up their clothes and tied them at the waist. One writer draws the lesson from that, using the older wording of the verse:
When you gird the loins, you draw up the loose flowing garments and tie them tight, so nothing hinders your movement or your work. So 1 Peter 1:13 urges us, "Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober." Our minds should be under proper control, with no loose ends allowed to hinder our spiritual progress. This honest self-discipline of our minds is true spiritual strength; and so our arms too will be strengthened for work. It is the precious principle of going "from strength to strength" (Psalm 84:7).
The same word turns up in other places in the Bible. One writer lines them up:
"Gird up now your loins like a man," God said to Job, twice, and to others also. Elijah girded up his loins and ran before Ahab (1 Kings 18:46). There are many other references — Behemoth, for example, the dinosaur: "his strength is in his loins" (Job 40:16). But Scripture uses exactly the same word of the woman of worth. We don't seem to hear so much about her. Taken together these references confirm what we have always heard: the loins are the seat of strength.
after_note: restores who "his" is There is other teaching also. The loins are connected with the mind. "Gird up the loins of your mind" (1 Peter 1:13).
Just before this verse she buys a field and plants a vineyard. One writer reads that field as ground taken for God, and says what the planting costs:
Once the field is bought, it must be "planted" with witnesses, assemblies, or people, to bring forth fruit to God. This calls for strenuous work — loins must be girded and arms strengthened, "strong in the Lord and the power of His might."
One writer links her girded loins with the Lord Jesus taking a towel to wash His disciples' feet:
"She girds her loins with strength, and strengthens her arms." Strength marked all her activities and service. Our blessed Lord, as recorded in John 13, girded Himself with a linen towel and washed His disciples' feet, giving them in this an example to "wash one another's feet." Divine strength will mark all our movements and service while we stay occupied with the Lord, and as we abide in Him and He in us.
The girdle holds the rest of the armour in place. So the girding comes first — before the work and before the fight:
Girding is the application of truth to the soul — the intimate dealing of the word with the will — the movements of the heart. This is arming for conflict in a most practical and effective way; but we must do it in the presence of God before we meet the enemy. The soldier's girdle fastens his other pieces of armour more closely to him, so that he is able to march and strong to fight. "You have girded me with strength for the battle," says the psalmist (Psalm 18:39)… It is the bracing up of the affections, the whole inner man, for Christ and for the things of Christ. When the heart clings to the Lord, as the garment clings to the loins under the tight belt, the enemy cannot reach the gates of the soul.
- Secured — the loose garment is drawn up and tied so nothing hinders the work. Applied to the mind, it means no loose ends left trailing.
- Strength — the loins are the seat of strength. Scripture uses the same word of Behemoth in Job and of this woman.
- Supplied — her arms are strong for hard work because she is "strong in the Lord and the power of His might," not because of self-effort.
- Shown — Christ girded Himself with a towel to serve. His example is the pattern, and abiding in Him is the power.
- Settled — the girding comes first, in God's presence. The heart is braced for Christ before the work or the battle begins.
She perceiveth that her earning is good; her lamp goeth not out by night.
Two pictures sit side by side in this verse: a trader checking her goods and a lamp burning through the dark hours. Commentators read both as marks of a life that knows the worth of what it handles and refuses to let its light fail.
The first half of the verse describes a woman who has tested her own goods and knows they are worth selling. One writer applies this to the way we hold out the truth to others.
We must be sure that what we are offering others is good, fully convinced of it. Someone has said that the world presents its fiction as though it were true, while many speak of the things of the Lord, His truth, as though they were fiction. That second fault will mark us if we are not enjoying the good of the things we talk about.
Her verdict on her merchandise is not a guess. It comes from handling the goods. Older wording calls her merchandise "good"; the ESV says "profitable." The same holds for spiritual things: the sense of what is good grows as we use it.
Handling divine things deepens the soul's conviction that this is true good. Is this not plainly stated for us in Philippians 1:9-10? "And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent." This sense of what is good will fill us with good, so that evil has no place. Then the lamp of testimony will burn all through the night of our short stay on earth. But if people choose the world's goods just because they "see no harm in them," they clearly have not seen the "good" that runs through everything belonging to God. Their lamp will grow dim in the same measure.
See how this joins the two halves of the verse. A dull sense of what is good is not a private matter. It shows up in a fading lamp. The test is searching: the standard is not "I see no harm in it" but a taste for what is excellent.
Older translations use the word "candle" here; the ESV says "lamp." Scripture uses such a light in two ways: for real light and as a picture. Her steady flame also stands in contrast to another light in this same book.
In the Old Testament this word covers any light, real or symbolic. Job said of God, "when His lamp shone upon my head" (Job 29:3). "The lamp of the wicked will be put out" (Proverbs 24:20). But of the wise woman it says, "Her lamp does not go out at night" (Proverbs 31:18). In the New Testament the word means a lamp. In some passages it stands for the testimony of God. Those who receive it should show it and not hide it (Luke 8:16; Luke 11:33, 36).
A lamp that burns all night needs a supply. One writer places this verse among the everyday uses of oil in Israel.
Oil was one of the most useful products of the land of Israel, both for home use and for sacred use. People put it to three main uses: food, light, and anointing. The virtuous woman was well supplied with oil — "her lamp does not go out at night" (Proverbs 31:18).
One writer reads the whole chapter as a picture of the Lord's people while He is away. On that reading, profitable merchandise is gain from work done for Someone who is coming back, and the night is more than the hours after sunset.
Such happy service for the Lord whets the appetite for more: "She perceives that her merchandise is profitable"; she sees the profit there is in work for the good Man who is away but is coming back. Night comes on, but her lamp still burns. Earlier the chapter said, "She rises while it is yet night". It is now the night of our Lord's rejection and no time for sleeping. But the morning dawns, thank God. "The night is far gone; the day is at hand", the watchman calls. So let us never let the little lamp of our testimony grow dim or go out. Let it shine on "till the day dawns and the shadows flee away".
- Taste it. She has handled her own goods and knows they are good; we cannot offer others what we have not proved ourselves.
- Prove it. Handling divine things deepens that conviction. A growing taste for what is excellent leaves evil no room.
- Guard it. "I see no harm in it" is the mark of a soul that has not perceived the good — and such a lamp dims by degrees.
- Feed it. A lamp burns all night only if someone keeps it filled with oil. Light that lasts needs a supply.
- Shine on. The night of the Lord's rejection is no time for sleeping. The little lamp of testimony burns until the day dawns and He returns.
She putteth her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
The closing poem of Proverbs describes a woman of worth, line by line. Each verse starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This line puts two simple tools into her hands. Why does a portrait of excellence stop to watch her spin thread?
Both tools belong to hand-spinning, the craft that turns raw fibre into thread. One writer explains what they are, and what using them cost:
Think how much time and work it takes to keep pulling out and straightening the fibres, until they form one long thread for knitting clothes or weaving cloth. The distaff is a split stick that holds the wool or linen. The spindle puts the twist into the long thread. This work is long and painstaking. But this woman loved her husband and household so much that she was willing to spend these long hours, so the material for their clothes would be ready. How much time do we spend studying the Word of God, comparing Scripture with Scripture, so that when the moment comes we have something ready to serve God's people?
The verse names her hands twice. The next verse names them again, reaching out to others. One writer reads the two verses together, and counts how often the chapter returns to her hands:
These two verses show her hands rightly and busily occupied — first at home, and then for others outside. She had no spinning wheel, so she did it all by hand. She held the long spindle in one hand and the distaff in the other, and long hours produced only small amounts. Yet this is far better than the boredom of having everything made by machine, and selfishly piling up clothes nobody needs. Here is a sharp question for us today: since we have more, do we not have more to give away? For this virtuous woman stretches out her hand to others too. As if one hand were not enough, the other hand follows gladly, and her whole heart shows in her generosity. Why do we not follow her example more gladly? Note also that this chapter speaks of her hands seven times — a beautiful sign that God finds her works perfect.
The poem is not a jumble of virtues. It groups her qualities, and this verse closes one group:
Seven things — the perfect number — are noted of her. Her faithfulness (vv. 11-12); her industry (vv. 13-15); her thrift (vv. 16-19); her benevolence (v. 20); her providence (vv. 21-25); her moral excellences (vv. 26-27); and her reward (vv. 28-31).
The same writer sets her spinning inside the home, where her hands are always full:
The model woman has a house to keep. God commands women who want to please Him to be "pure, working at home" (see Titus 2:5)... Her work is all at home. In this circle her hands are always happily full, as every true wife and mother surely will. Food and clothing for her household fill her days. She prepares wool and flax for the distaff and loom, and food for her household. She gives out work to her maidservants too, and lets none of them live with her in idleness.
Commentators do not stop at housework. One gives a key for reading the whole poem on more than one level:
This passage holds several lessons for us. Some apply to us as individuals. Others show the relationship of Israel and the church to Christ. In Scripture the man usually pictures the position God gives us, while the woman shows the state or condition that belongs to that position.
This picture is not an unreachable ideal. Ruth received the same title from the townspeople who watched how she lived:
Her godly life and her whole manner showed her faith in the LORD beyond mistake. As Boaz testified, the wise and upright men who sat in the gate of Bethlehem knew that she was "a woman of worth". The ruling elders had already recognised her as one who excelled in the qualities that gave a housewife in Israel her worth, or "virtue".
- Hands — the verse names them twice; the chapter names them seven times. One writer takes this as a sign that her works are perfect before God.
- Hands at work — spinning was slow and painstaking; she gave the long hours because she loved her husband and household.
- Hands full — her sphere is her house, where food and clothing fill her days, and she lets no one live in idleness.
- Hands reaching — the next verse stretches those same hands out to others; if we have more than she did, we have more to give away.
- Hands proved — the elders at the gate gave Ruth this same title, so the portrait describes a life someone really lived.
She stretcheth out her hand to the afflicted, and she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
This verse sits inside a long portrait of a woman hard at work. Here her working hands open to people who have nothing — so why is a woman this careful with money so free with it, and how far does her giving reach?
The chapter has just shown her buying a field, trading at a profit, and spinning late into the night. One writer reads verse 20 as the answer to all that effort — the point of the earning is the giving.
Next comes her generosity. She is not stingy, and she is not selfishly greedy. She is careful with money and works hard for one reason: so that she may have something to give to others. "She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy." Paul urged the same spirit on the church at Ephesus: "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need" (Eph. 4:28).
One writer takes this verse with the one before it: her hands work at home, then reach outside. He puts a question to anyone who owns more than she did.
These two verses show her hands rightly and busily occupied, first at home, and second, for the sake of others outside... Here is a pointed question for us today: since we own more, do we not have more to give away? For this worthy woman stretches out her hand to others as well. As though one hand is not enough, the other hand follows willingly. Her whole heart shows in her generosity. Why do we not follow her example more gladly? Her hands are mentioned seven times in the chapter — a beautiful sign that God finds her works perfect.
Everything before this verse concerns her household. This verse reaches past it, and the writer warns that we stop where she does not.
Not content with serving the needs of her household, this large-hearted woman cares also for the needs of the poor. It is so easy for us to be wholly taken up with the needs of one particular circle, and to forget the needy all around. Nor is this only a matter of material needs, but also of the spiritual needs of those who have not been blessed with the blessings of the gospel of God.
She puts help straight into the hand of the person in front of her. One writer uses this verse as a model of the simplest way to give.
The Word of God shows us that our giving can be direct. A believer sees a need and helps there and then. We also think of 1 John 3:17: "But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?" Another example is the woman in Proverbs 31, who opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.
Commentators read this portrait on more than one level. The poem is an acrostic: each verse starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. One writer sees the church, the bride of Christ, drawn here from A to Z.
The description of the model wife here is an acrostic: it runs through the whole Hebrew alphabet of twenty-two letters. Christ Himself is "the Alpha and the Omega" (the A to Z, in English). Human words run out, as it were, in trying to tell the endless glories of His person... And here, in this description of her who is meant to represent His church, His bride, the whole alphabet is used to express her moral and domestic virtues.
The same writer finds her match in a man: Paul.
Think of the devoted apostle himself. He toiled night and day, "enduring everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." What self-denial, what love for others — the souls of the truly poor and needy. He made himself poor for others: "as poor," he says, "yet making many rich." He was a lover of people in the truest and highest sense of that word — the New Testament counterpart of this woman of worth, beyond all price. May both his and her spirit mark us, their spiritual descendants, more and more.
- Working hand. Her care with money is not greed. She works so that she has something to give — Paul tells the thief to work for the same reason.
- Opened hand. One hand is not enough. The second follows willingly, and her whole heart shows in her generosity.
- Reaching hand. Everything earlier in the chapter serves her household. Here she reaches past her own circle — to material need, and to those who do not have the gospel.
- Direct hand. She sees a need and meets it herself — giving that goes person to person, not at a distance.
- Perfect hands. Her hands appear seven times in the chapter — a sign that God finds her works perfect. Paul is her match in the New Testament: poor himself, yet making many rich.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
Winter is coming, and the woman of Proverbs 31 faces it without fear — not because the cold will spare her house, but because the clothing is already made. That raises two questions: what makes her fearless, and why does the colour of the garments matter?
Her freedom from fear rests on work already done. One writer sets her care for her household against the New Testament standard for anyone with a family to support.
HER PROVIDENCE — her care for her own. "All her household are clothed in scarlet" — or "double garments," as an older margin reads it. Scripture assures us that a man who does not provide for his own is worse than an unbeliever. That is true above all of those in his own house (1 Tim. 5:8). The praised housewife here does not fall under the condemnation of this passage. She has made full provision for the future of those who depend on her. She is ready for the days of storm and snow. And more: "she laughs at the time to come," as the writer describing her virtues says.
Where does the alternative reading "double garments" come from? The Hebrew word may carry that sense, and it appears again in a very different setting.
There is another and quite opposite use of the word, though related to this: "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isa. 1:18). The full word for scarlet is Tolaath shani, "scarlet worm." It is possible that shani, scarlet, means "double." That would point to the double dye which makes the scarlet.
Snow and scarlet stand side by side here, and one writer reads them as a picture of something larger than a winter wardrobe. The source of the dye carries the weight of that reading.
The coming of winter pictures the cold desolation of the judgment of God. The snow adds its own voice of white, spotless purity, which man in his guilt is right to fear. But she has no fear, for her household is clothed in scarlet. What a lovely picture of the blessed covering of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Scarlet is the warm, attractive colour, and the dye comes from a worm-like insect. That same dye coloured the scarlet fabrics of the tabernacle. This is the very insect behind the words of the Lord Jesus in Psalm 22:6, "I am a worm and not a man." He spoke them in view of His sufferings for sin at Calvary. A blessed covering indeed for every child of God — a covering that removes all fear, because it removes all guilt.
Her household is not merely kept warm. What they wear puts them, in appearance, with royalty — and the winter she prepares for has a parallel in ordinary life.
Without good protection against the snows and cold winds of winter, the body can suffer serious harm. But winter held no fears for this woman. Everyone in her household wore scarlet, like those in the king's house. Often we have to face the winter, the trying times of life. How good it is for us when loving hands have made us the garments that let us stand against the wintry blast.
Notice that the verse says all her household. One writer takes that word as a working principle: she works for the whole house, not for her own appearance.
She labours so that not only she herself but all her household might carry this precious mark: acknowledging the rights of an absent Lord. "All her household are clothed in scarlet." One longs that all labour and ministry might have this grand aim in view.
One writer reads the clothing in this chapter as a picture of the bride in Revelation. He draws a careful line between two kinds of righteousness:
It is "the righteous deeds of the saints" — the righteousness they practise themselves. That is different from the imputed righteousness by which alone they stood justified before God. Imputed righteousness is God's free gift. The other is their own prayerful, patient, persevering weaving — though the Holy Spirit teaches and enables them.
- Foresight. Her calm is not optimism. She made the garments before the weather turned, and so met the danger before it came.
- Covering. Scarlet ties together a worm and a double dye. It is the colour Isaiah sets against snow-white forgiveness, and the dye of the fabrics in the tabernacle, Israel's tent of worship.
- Fearlessness. Read as a picture, the covering removes all fear because it removes all guilt.
- Dignity. Scarlet is warm and royal. Her household is dressed like those in the king's house, ready for the trying times of life.
- Reach. All her household is clothed. She leaves no one under her roof uncovered — and one writer makes that same reach the aim of all labour and ministry.
She maketh herself coverlets; her clothing is byssus and purple.
The woman of Proverbs 31 has already clothed her household against the cold. Now the verse turns to her own house and her own person, and to two fabrics that older translations call "coverings of tapestry" and "silk."
Her own hands made what covers her home. The care she gave to others now shows in her own house, and one writer turns that into a question for us:
Her own tapestries adorned the house of this woman of worth, who cared not only for the clothes of her household but for the needy. Does the moral beauty of Christ adorn our homes, and do we work so that this same moral excellence marks those who form the house of God?
The word behind the older rendering "silk" does not mean silk at all:
In Proverbs 31:22 it is shesh, which is fine linen.
That fabric carries a settled meaning. The writer quoted at the start says this "silk" is the "fine linen" the tabernacle was made of — the tent where Israel worshipped God. It stands for "the practical righteousness to be seen in the lives of all the saints": what a believer shows in daily life.
The second fabric says something different. Purple was a costly dye, and one writer traces both where it came from and what it marked:
Purple, "Argaman," is, like the word for blue, the name of a dye taken from a shellfish. The scarlet came the same way, from a worm. How significant it is that all three of these brilliant colors came from the sacrifice of animal life. It was a gorgeous color, the badge of royalty and luxury. Lydia (Acts 16:14) was a seller of purple... In Judges 8:26 we are told that the kings of Midian wore purple robes. This gives the thought, familiar to all, that purple is the royal color, and speaks of kingly dignity. The rich man in Luke 16 wore purple and fine linen, clothing fit for kings.
Purple also spoke of wealth, and that raises a question:
The purple that the rich wore stood for wealth and dignity. Should we not appear in this world as those whom Christ has made rich, and in the dignity of the calling to which we are called?
The two garments here do not stand alone. The verse before clothed the household in scarlet. One writer treats that first covering as the base for everything else:
It is good to be reminded that much of our time is rightly spent in covering ourselves. This shows that in ourselves we are not acceptable to God. But when our covering speaks to God of His own beloved Son and of His great work, His heart cannot but find deepest pleasure in us. Note again, though, that verse 21 has shown the first covering to be redemption. It must come before the fine linen and purple. Otherwise putting on the last two would be mere hypocrisy, like the rich man of Luke 16:19, "clothed in purple and fine linen."
The same writer draws a positive side out of both fabrics. The fine linen marks believers as holy priests, free to enter God's presence. The purple gives them the dignity of kings. As royal priests they proclaim the praises of the One who called them out of darkness.
One writer reads these garments as the bride's dress in Revelation 19, and draws a careful line between two kinds of righteousness:
And what is the clothing of scarlet, the fine linen, the coverings of tapestry, her clothing of silk and purple, but the garments "bright and pure" of the bride of Revelation, "the wife of the Lamb," who by God's own power at work in her had "made herself ready" (Revelation 19)? It is "the righteous deeds of the saints" — the righteousness they practised themselves. It is not the righteousness credited to them, by which alone they stood justified before God. That credited righteousness is God's free gift. The other is their own prayerful, patient, persevering weaving — though taught and enabled, certainly, by the Holy Spirit.
- Covered. The verse is about clothing. We need it because we are not acceptable to God as we are. Our covering must speak to God of His Son.
- Order. Scarlet comes first, then linen and purple. Redemption comes before any display of righteousness, or the fine clothes are only the rich man's costume.
- Linen. The "silk" is shesh, the tabernacle's fine linen — the practical righteousness meant to show in a believer's daily life.
- Purple. Purple is the royal color, taken at the cost of life. It gives believers the dignity of kings and marks them as people Christ has made rich.
- Woven. The righteousness that justifies is God's free gift. These garments the bride weaves herself, taught and enabled by the Holy Spirit.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
While she works, spins, and trades, her husband takes his seat at the city gate among the elders. Why does a poem in praise of a wife stop to describe her husband's standing? And what does the "gate" have to do with either of them?
In Israel the gate was more than an entrance. The city settled its public business there, and there a man's standing showed.
Besides the ordinary use of gates for the protection of a city, "in the gate" was the place where many important things were transacted. When Boaz wanted the question about Ruth and the inheritance settled, he went up to the gate. There he debated the matter with a nearer relative and closed it, and the elders witnessed it (Ruth 4:1-12; compare Joshua 20:4). To "sit in the gate" was a place of honour... It should have been the place of true judgement and justice, but was not always so (Isaiah 29:21; Amos 5:10, 12; Zechariah 8:16). It was, at least at times, the king's chief place of audience (2 Samuel 19:8; 1 Kings 22:10; Job 29:7).
So her husband holds a place of public trust.
Her work at home and his honour at the gate hold together. What she does in private either supports or damages his good name in public.
This dignified woman lived with the awareness that her husband filled a high position, and she made sure that nothing about herself or her house would bring discredit on his honourable place. Since we know the place of glory and honour that belongs to our exalted Lord, should we not seek in everything to reflect His moral perfections in all we say and do?
The verse marks out where each of them belongs. He is at the gate; this verse places her over the house.
Here, in Proverbs 31, the woman's husband trusts her and praises her; it is hers to trust Him and praise Him, surely not herself. "Her husband is known in the gates" — it is not God's way for the woman to be there. She keeps and guides the house. The last verse of the chapter does say, "Let her works praise her in the gates." So it will also be at the public marriage of the Lamb, for we read, "It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure — for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints" (Revelation 19:8). Even so, she will be conscious that it is all the result of His own grace.
The elders at the gate weigh the wife too. Ruth is the working example.
Her godly living and manner showed her faith in the Lord beyond mistake. As Boaz testified, the wise and upright men who sat in the gate of Bethlehem knew that she was "a woman of worth."... Solomon describes such a woman as "the crown of her husband" (Proverbs 12:4).
Proverbs sets the opposite case beside it:
On the contrary, a wife who causes shame "is like rottenness in his bones." This was sadly true of Jezebel, wife of Ahab (1 Kings 21:25).
Commentators read the picture beyond the household. The seat in the gate points on to the Lord Jesus — and not only in the future.
In one respect this looks on to the blessing of the millennium, when the Lord Jesus will sit as Judge in the gate, known to all, administering in perfect justice. Yet even now we who are of faith have the privilege of knowing Him in His faithful administration in connection with the church of God. So in a spiritual way we already anticipate the blessings that all will know openly in that day.
And in that day, His honour will come through those who belong to Him:
In that day He will "be glorified in His saints and marvelled at among all who have believed." Then, through her, He will indeed be "known in the gates." What a happy, happy day this will be for the church, now toiling and often weary — to see Him honoured, and in a certain sense, in whatever small measure, through her.
- Gate. In Israel the gate was the place of public business, judgement and honour. So the verse shows a man of standing, not a man at a door.
- Home. He is known in the gate; she keeps and guides the house. Two spheres, but one shared honour.
- Care. She lived aware of his high position. She let nothing about herself or her house bring discredit on it. A wife who causes shame does the reverse: she is "rottenness in his bones."
- Recognition. The home shapes the public verdict. The elders at Bethlehem's gate already knew Ruth as a woman of worth.
- Christ. The pattern points on to the Lord Jesus. His own know Him now in His faithful administration. One day He will be glorified in His saints — known in the gates through her.
She maketh body linen and selleth it, and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Near the end of this poem praising the ideal wife, the picture widens. What she makes at home now leaves the house and goes to market.
Earlier verses show her clothing her household and reaching out to the poor. This verse adds a third circle, further out still.
What this woman's energy produces reaches people outside her home — not only the poor, but the merchant. She can sell to those who pass her goods on to others. Our own field of service is limited, because God has called us to a separate path. Even so, we can thank God that truths He gave have spread far and wide through the writings of people who learned the truth by walking in the path of God's will.
Her strength is not used up by those closest to her. One writer turns that into a question for us:
It may seem amazing that this hard-working woman, after caring so fully for her own household and for the poor, would still have time and energy to make fine linen for the market. What an example! Does this not teach us to think of the Lord's interests not only with the people close to us, but with a missionary spirit that cares for others we may never meet on earth? What a precious reflection of the gracious heart of our Master!
The other thing she makes is a sash. In Scripture a belt carries its own meaning:
The belt pictures strength, and tightening the belt for work stands for active service. When God gathers the nations to discipline Israel, their belts will not come loose (Isa. 5:27). Of the Lord when He comes to reign, Scripture says, "Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins." (Isa. 11:5). In the battle going on now, the Christian is urged to fasten the belt of truth (Eph. 6:14) — and truth is the very thing Satan will oppose most, and the thing most people are content to ignore.
One dictionary traces the Hebrew word behind "merchant":
The same Hebrew word that names the Canaanites is translated 'merchant' in Job 41:6; Prov. 31:24; Isa. 23:8; so Zechariah 14:21 may mean "there shall no more be the merchant in the house of the Lord of hosts."
Why sell at all? One writer answers by looking at what her trade provides:
Scripture assures us that a man who does not provide for his own, and above all for those in his own house, is worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim. 5:8). The housewife praised here does not fall under that condemnation. She has made full provision for the future of those who depend on her. She is ready for the days of storm and snow, and, as the writer who describes her virtues says, "she laughs at the time to come". The apostle's instruction to those who are rich in this world is to be "storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life" (1 Tim. 6:19). All of us can do this in some measure, even if we own little in this world. Even the poorest in the church have the privilege of laying up treasure in heaven.
The passage also works as a picture. One writer explains how Scripture uses men and women in such pictures:
In Scripture the man usually pictures the position God gives us, while the woman shows the state or condition that belongs to that position.
The poem runs through the Hebrew alphabet, letter by letter. One writer sees meaning in that:
Christ Himself is "the Alpha and the Omega" (the A to Z, in English). It is as if human language is used up in trying to tell the endless glories of His person — His moral excellence, together with His might, His majesty, His rule, His grace, His justice and His truth. And here, in this description of the woman who is meant to represent His church, His bride, the whole alphabet is used to express her moral and household virtues and her excellence as a woman.
- Home first. She clothes her household and helps the poor first. The market takes what is left over.
- Overflow outward. The energy left over reaches people she will never meet. That is a heart caring beyond its own circle.
- What she sells. The sash pictures strength and active service. What she sells equips others for their work.
- Profit with a purpose. Her trade is provision for those depending on her, and it points to laying up treasure that lasts.
- The whole alphabet. From A to Z the poem spends every letter praising her — a portrait, writers suggest, of the church loved by Christ.
Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laugheth [at] the coming day.
Near the end of the portrait of the woman of worth, the focus shifts. It moves from what she makes for others to what she herself wears — and then to her future. The verse raises a question. What clothing can you wear into the future without fear?
The wardrobe here is moral, not material. One writer sees the two garments as marks that should show in every believer's daily life. The same writer ties them to her confidence about the future.
"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come." Moral strength and God-given honour should mark all God's people in the way they live. We should always show the strength of character that refuses anything which shames the honoured Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. If trouble comes to us because of this, we can be sure we will rejoice in a time to come. The Lord will honour those who honour Him.
(The writer used an older translation, which reads "strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.")
The verse says strength is her clothing. You put clothing on from outside. One commentator holds on to that detail: neither the strength nor the dignity grows out of the woman herself.
Is there not a helpful reminder here that a believer's strength is not in himself? True dignity does not grow out of our own nature either. These are "her clothing," and a picture of Christ. The apostle could say with joy, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13)… This is why "she laughs at the time to come." The future holds no fear for her at all. She "may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so also are we in this world" (1 John 4:17).
The laughter is not carelessness. It follows a long list of practical planning, like preparing for snow. One writer reads her joy about the future as the fruit of that planning, then widens it beyond money.
She is ready for the days of storm and snow. And more than that, the one describing her says she "laughs at the time to come." The apostle tells those who are rich in this world to be "storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life" (1 Tim. 6:19). All of us can do this to some degree, even if we own little. Storing up treasure in heaven is open even to those in the church who have the least.
One commentator sets her lasting honour beside the wealth of violent men. The same writer points to Abigail — the wise wife of a harsh, rich man named Nabal — and asks how long a firm grip on money lasts.
The picture in the last part of Proverbs 31 is of such a woman. The story of Abigail shows it well, while her husband Nabal shows how violent men hold on to riches. For her, a gentle and quiet spirit is not only of great value in God's sight. It is a blessing that lasts. But how strong is any man's grip on his wealth when death comes? No one is discharged from that war.
Since the clothing is given, the wearer has nothing to boast about. One writer reads the chapter as a picture of Christ and His people. In it, her part is to trust and praise Him, and the fine linen of Revelation is a gift.
Here, in Proverbs 31, the woman's husband trusts her and praises her. Her part is to trust Him and praise Him, not herself… The last verse does say, "Let her works praise her in the gates." The same will be true when the marriage of the Lamb is held before all, for we read, "it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure — for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints" (Rev. 19:8)… Still, she will know that it is all the result of His own grace.
Commentators differ in emphasis here. Some read the woman mainly as a model for a wife who believes. Others read her as a picture of God's people in relation to Christ. The two readings sit side by side. They do not cancel each other.
- Clothing — she wears strength and honour; she does not own them. They show in ordinary life, and are not ornaments for display.
- Source — they are her clothing, not her nature. So they point to Christ. A believer's strength and dignity come from outside himself.
- Confidence — the same borrowed clothing is why the future holds no fear. Confidence for the day of judgment rests on what Christ is, not on what we manage.
- Provision — her laughter follows real planning. Storing up treasure in heaven is open even to the poorest. This security is not for the wealthy only.
- Grace — the fine linen is granted; when the praise finally comes, she knows the whole outfit was His gift.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and upon her tongue is the law of kindness.
The closing verses of Proverbs paint a portrait of a woman of worth. After her hands, her household and her clothing, the writer turns to her mouth — to what fills her speech and what governs it.
Her wisdom shows first in what is missing from her speech:
Foolish talk and joking were unknown to her. She took no part in idle gossip or useless conversation. Instead, her words of wisdom brought grace to others. There was nothing hard or stern about her, for kindness flowed from her tongue to everyone around.
The verse says she opens her mouth. One writer finds a balance in that:
We have already seen that this precious soul is a worker, not a talker. Yet there is a lovely moral balance here. She knows how to give "a word in season", so when she does open her mouth, it is to speak words of wisdom. This compares with 1 Peter 4:11: "whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God." If we obeyed this instruction, how much evil and emptiness we would avoid, and how much good we would do!
Calling kindness a law sounds strange. The same writer explains what kind of law it is. (The ESV renders the phrase "the teaching of kindness"; the older translation these writers use has "the law of kindness.")
"The law of kindness" on her tongue is no doubt a deliberate contrast to "the law of commandments expressed in ordinances" (Eph. 2:15). Legality has no place at all in her character: her words of grace match her gracious actions. If this is called a "law," it simply shows that it is her settled principle of conduct. It is far from looseness and from indulging evil, but it is firm in kind consideration of the needs of others.
Kind words can slide into flattery. Another writer sets the verse between two faults of speech:
Her speech is in all wisdom — there is "no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place." But though her conversation is pure, she is not harsh; for "the law of kindness" is on her tongue. Her conversation is always in grace, yet seasoned with salt. There is a way of speaking that stabs like a sword. On the other hand, there is a way of speaking that is all honey. This favoured woman avoids both extremes. She is kind in manner and tone, yet she never winks at wrong or sin, or smooths it over.
The New Testament asks older women to teach what is good. One writer uses this verse to say what that teaching is:
Set next to "not slanderers" and "not enslaved to much wine," it seems to mean that what older women say and pass on should be good and wholesome (as in Proverbs 31:26). This phrase does not describe a woman teaching "standing in front of an audience" or "behind a lectern" or "presenting the Word of God." That would contradict 1 Timothy 2:12, and no New Testament example shows it. It refers more to practical teaching, not the exposition of the Word of God.
Verses 10–31 form an acrostic: each verse starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. One writer sees a larger meaning in that design:
Christ Himself is "the Alpha and the Omega" (the A to Z, in English). He exhausts human language, as it were, in the effort to tell the infinite glories of His person — His moral excellences, together with His might, His majesty, His dominion, His grace, His justice and His truth. And here, in this description of the one who is meant to represent His church, His bride, the whole alphabet is run through to express her moral and household virtues and her excellence as a woman.
- Silence first. Gossip, empty talk and crude joking are absent. What she leaves out comes first.
- Wisdom next. She is a worker, not a talker. When she does open her mouth, she gives a word in season, as one who speaks the words of God.
- Kindness as law. Kindness on her tongue is a settled principle, not a rule forced on her. It is the opposite of legality, yet it never indulges evil.
- Salt with the honey. Her words are neither a sword-thrust nor all honey. She is gentle in tone, yet she never smooths over sin.
- Reach. Older women teach what is good with such words. Read as a picture of Christ's church, this verse makes a wise, kind tongue a public good, not a private virtue.
She surveyeth the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
One line in this long portrait of a woman of worth sums up her days: what she keeps her eye on, and what she refuses to live off. Commentators hold the two halves together, oversight and hard work. They apply both to the home, to the church, and to anyone responsible for others.
The phrase "looks well" carries the sense of active oversight, not passive presence. One writer finds a balance here that refuses both harshness and softness:
There is a way of speaking that is like sword thrusts, and on the other hand a way of speaking that is all honey. This favoured woman avoids both extremes. She is kind in manner and tone, but she does not wink at wrong or smooth over sin. "She looks well to the ways of her household" — there is the faithful exercise of discipline in her own circle. She keeps a careful watch on the conduct of those under her roof and under her authority.
Watching a household includes watching what parents allow. One writer presses the point through Eli, a priest in Israel:
How often we excuse our children for things we would not do ourselves, letting them form friendships and connections at school or at work that are contrary to the ways of the Lord. Eli argued with his sons about their behaviour, but God judged him because he did not restrain them. Eating the bread of idleness gets us into all kinds of mischief; the Lord has plenty for each one of us to do for Him.
Leslie Grant takes the word "household" beyond the family home, and shows what the second half of the verse will cost:
The household is where the character of those inside shows fully. No doubt we are meant to apply this to "the household of faith." In the church as the house of God we look for order, government and proper discipline. Here again is a sphere we must not be guilty of ignoring. But along with this, "she does not eat the bread of idleness." It will take all our energy of faith to keep up both a true gospel witness and proper care for the house of God. We shall have no idle time. It is like a mother who must keep watching the ways and tendencies of her children, if she is to preserve them in faith and love from the traps of sin and disobedience.
"The bread of idleness" is food no one worked for. Knapp applies it to the feeding of the soul, and points to the manna in the desert:
The days are evil and it is no time for ease or idleness. "Do not be slothful in zeal." The Israelite in the desert had to rise early to gather the manna while it was still morning, or go hungry. Christians must be just as diligent in feeding their souls. They are not allowed to eat the bread of idleness and prosper in their souls at the same time. "In all toil there is profit," and this worthy wife will in the end receive a full reward for her unselfish work and thoughtfulness for others.
Empty hands do not stay empty. William Kelly traces where free time goes, and sets the pattern of Christ against it:
The Master was never an idle busybody, and no true servant is. For love in a world of misery delights to serve, instead of demanding service from others, as pride and sloth do. The Son of Man came "not to be served but to serve"… Those who do no business are apt to become busybodies. The apostle warns them sharply. Leisure from work is time for mischief, and meddling in other people's affairs without any duty to do so is itself mischief.
Commentators differ on how far this portrait reaches beyond an actual woman. Some have read her as a picture of the Church. Gaebelein rejects that, and points instead to a contrast that runs through the whole book:
There is no need to allegorize this description and apply it to the Church, as some have done. But this virtuous woman stands out in bright contrast — a contrast with the descriptions of "the strange woman," the adulteress mentioned so often in Proverbs. One of the proverbs is expanded in this beautiful picture drawn by the Spirit of God: "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD."
- Watch — "Looks well" means real oversight. She watches those under her roof, and she never winks at wrong.
- Restrain — Eli watched but never corrected. He argued with his sons, did not restrain them, and God judged him for it.
- Work — The other half of watching is work. No one eats the bread of idleness and prospers in the soul at the same time.
- Beware — Idle time does not stay neutral. Those who do no business become busybodies, and leisure from work is time for mischief.
- Reward — Both halves reach the household of faith, where order and witness leave no idle hours. There unselfish work receives its full reward at the end.
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband [also], and he praiseth her
Proverbs closes with a long portrait of a capable woman, described line by line. Now the two parties best placed to judge — her children and her husband — give their verdict.
Many people owe a debt to a godly mother or wife. One writer widens that circle beyond the family.
Many have to thank God for the care of a godly mother, and the support of a godly wife. How blessed it is when we have a godly influence on everyone connected with us. That includes our natural family, and also those who share the household of faith with us.
One writer counts the parts of this portrait. Verse 28 opens the last one:
Seven things — the perfect number — are specifically noted of her. Her faithfulness (vv. 11-12); her industry (vv. 13-15); her thrift (vv. 16-19); her benevolence (v. 20); her providence (vv. 21-25); her moral excellences (vv. 26-27); and her reward (vv. 28-31).
The children "rise up" — but that verdict is not usually the child's first reaction. Care that shapes a child rarely feels welcome while it is happening.
Discipline and proper care may seem tiresome to a child, and rebellion may smoulder for a time. Yet when the Spirit of God works in the soul to give the knowledge of salvation and spiritual light, the children will later look back with true thankfulness for that same discipline. And when that discipline is joined with tenderness, love, and diligent faithfulness, the children will not in the end fail to commend their mother. If the church of God keeps up this honourable, loving concern for order and true discipline, it may not always be taken kindly at first. But in the end souls will recognise its value, and will say so.
The husband's praise closes the verse. One writer lists the daily care behind it, and adds that a husband should not need telling.
He lightens her work in household affairs, shoulders her burdens of family responsibility, shields her from anxieties and fears, comforts her in hours of sorrow, and helps her weakness without telling her so. He will not forget to notice her acts of devotion to himself in response to his love. Nor will he forget to praise her many excellences, as the Scripture commands (Prov. 31:28-29) — if he should be so neglectful as to need this instruction.
Commentators differ on the timing. One writer takes the praise as spoken after her work is over, and looks further ahead:
These tributes clearly come to her after she has left the scene of her many praiseworthy activities. Toil and care for the welfare of others was the chief element of her useful and unselfish life; now she has gone to her rest and her works follow her. And her reward is the unstinted, gratefully given praise of both her children and her husband. At the judgement seat of Christ the faithful will receive this honour and blessing in public. But even now, do we not praise the servants of Christ from past generations, we who profit from their labours? Are we not their spiritual children, who rise up and call them blessed?
One writer finds a picture of Christ's people in the shape of the chapter itself.
The description of the model wife here is an acrostic. It runs through the whole Hebrew alphabet of twenty-two letters. Christ Himself is "the Alpha and the Omega" (the A to Z, in English) — a title that exhausts human language, as it were, in trying to tell the infinite glories of His person. And here the description of her who is meant to represent His church, His bride, runs through the whole alphabet. It expresses her moral and domestic virtues and womanly excellences.
On that reading, the husband's praise weighs even more:
But more important still, "her husband also … praises her." Is the church not above all things responsible to please her Master? How infinitely precious His commendation is. Do we not deeply long to hear Him say "Well done"?
- Work first. Verse 28 is the seventh and last part of the portrait — "her reward". It follows faithfulness, industry, thrift, benevolence, providence and moral excellence. She earned the praise first.
- Home judges. The verdict comes from children and husband, the people who saw the daily version. Many people owe God thanks for a godly mother or wife.
- Wait for it. Discipline feels tiresome while it lasts. Thankfulness comes later, once the Spirit works in the soul. The same pattern holds in a church that keeps godly order.
- Say it out loud. Scripture commands husbands to praise their wife's excellences. It is not a nice extra. A man who needs telling is already neglectful.
- Then the Master. The praise may come only after her work is over. It points on to the judgement seat of Christ. There the faithful most want to hear His "Well done."
Many daughters have done worthily, but thou excellest them all.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Gracefulness is deceitful and beauty is vain; a woman [that] feareth Jehovah, she shall be praised.
The last verse of the portrait of the worthy woman weighs two things the world prizes — charm and good looks — and finds both empty. It closes the whole book of Proverbs by naming the one quality that outlasts looks and wins real praise: the fear of the Lord.
The first half of the verse sets aside two things that carry real weight in ordinary life. One writer adds every other natural advantage to the list, and says who does the weighing.
Worldly favour is deceitful, and beauty of the flesh is empty. The flesh gains nothing. The advantages of this life — birth, culture, riches or fame — count for nothing in the Lord's estimation. He is the righteous Judge, and He weighs them in His own scales. But the fear of the Lord brings obedience to Him and affection for Him. That alone deserves and gets praise and honourable mention before the coming judgment seat — the true "gates" this verse points to.
A person can manage charm and put on a pleasant manner. The verse calls it deceitful. One writer points to what God looks at instead, and to when He announces the verdict.
How fitting that a book marked by the fear of the Lord should end in this way. Others may try to win favour by pleasant manners or good looks. But the eyes of the Lord look deeper. He sees the heart, and the heart shows itself in steady daily conduct and devotion. No one can deceive Him. Empty good looks make no impression on His heart of absolute truth and purity… "She is to be praised." Others will come to see her worth. Far above that, God will give His own approval. "Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes… Then each one will receive his commendation from God" (1 Cor. 4:5).
(The older translation Grant quotes reads "then shall every man have praise of God.")
The verse names a woman, because the whole passage describes a wife and mother. But the contrast it draws is not only for women. One writer says so directly.
The favour of the world is deceitful; like natural beauty it does not last. But the woman who, in reverent fear, seeks to please the Lord will have a satisfying and praiseworthy life. And this is true for us all.
Another writer links this closing portrait with an earlier proverb about a gracious woman. He names the quality that keeps its value when wealth cannot.
The picture in the last part of Proverbs 31 is of a woman who could be called "gracious" just as truly as "virtuous." These are only two sides of the same person… In her, a gentle and quiet spirit is not only of great value in God's sight; it is a blessing that lasts. But what of those who hold on to their wealth most tightly? What are they when death comes? No one is excused from that battle.
Commentators differ on whether this woman should be read as more than a woman. One insists the description stands on its own feet, and gains its force from the contrast running through the book.
The last part of the book of Proverbs describes the virtuous woman… There is no need to turn this description into a picture of the Church, as some have done. This virtuous woman stands out in bright contrast. She is set against "the strange woman," the adulteress named again and again in Proverbs.
Others read the passage as a picture, on the ground that in Scripture a wife is described by what her husband is.
The church takes its character from Christ (Eph. 5), and Israel takes its character from their Messiah. In the same way, the wife here takes her character from the man.
- Fades — Worldly favour is deceitful and beauty is empty. Birth, culture, riches and fame weigh nothing with God.
- Fear — What replaces them is the fear of the Lord, which brings obedience to Him and affection for Him.
- Sees — Looks cannot deceive Him. His eyes go deeper, to the heart. And the heart shows itself in steady daily conduct.
- Praised — The praise is not just her family's. God gives His own approval, and each one will hear it from Him when the Lord comes.
- All — The verse describes a woman, but the lesson is for everyone. A life shaped by pleasing the Lord is the one that lasts.
Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.
Proverbs closes with an ask, not a warning: give this woman what her work earned, and let her labour speak for her in public. Who gives the praise, and when does it come?
This verse is the final step of a carefully built structure. Each verse from 10 to 31 starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Where the poem sits in the book matters too:
Proverbs 31:10-31 is truly of exceptional excellence. Its order is perfect. Each letter of the alphabet, in turn, begins each following verse. Notice this carefully. The acrostic describes the woman of worth, the virtuous and hardworking wife. It comes right after "the words" of the king consecrated or devoted to God.
One writer reads this closing phrase as a picture of a coming judgment. He names first what will not count there:
Worldly favour is deceitful, and beauty of the body is empty. "The flesh is no help at all." Birth, culture, riches or fame are earthly advantages, and they count for nothing with the Lord, the righteous Judge, when He weighs them in the scales of the sanctuary. But the fear of Jehovah produces subjection to Him and affection for Him. This alone deserves and gets praise and honourable mention before the coming judgment seat — "the gates" of the imagery used here.
The same writer notes where that word falls:
Yes, "the gates"; it is the last word of our acrostic — indeed, the last of the whole book of Proverbs. Let us not forget them; and may we, by God's grace, live and work in the light of that coming day. Amen.
Human recognition is only part of it. The verse before says a woman who fears the Lord "is to be praised." This line asks her works to say so in public. One writer ties both to the moment when God gives His own verdict:
Is there not here also the clearest significance of the judgment seat of Christ? "She is to be praised." Others will recognise her value in the end, but far above all else, God will express His own approval. "Do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes" — and then each one will receive his commendation from God (1 Cor. 4:5). How thankful each saint will be then, who has honestly sought the Lord's pleasure with a single heart. We know that nothing will escape His eyes, nothing will be forgotten that has been the fruit of faith working by love.
The verse asks two things. The first is a gift, not just praise:
But she is not only praised: she is also given the fruit of her own hands. The Master let the servants who traded with His money keep what they had gained. In the same way, the goodness of God richly rewards those who have worked truly for Him (Luke 19:24-26). We shall find that what we have gained for Him has really been for ourselves also.
Some writers read the whole poem as a picture of the church, and this last verse as the day her work is shown:
The professing church has dishonoured the name of Christ. Yet the true church, the bride of Christ, will be found clothed "with fine linen, bright and pure — for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints" (Rev. 19:8). What the grace of Christ has worked in and through the saints will appear in this beautiful bridal garment in that day. All the material to be woven lies ready at the weaver's hand. But the weaver does the weaving, and she shall have full credit for what she has done.
That credit comes with a guard against self-admiration. Another writer holds the two together:
Here, in Proverbs 31, the woman's husband trusts her and praises her. Her part is to trust Him and praise Him, surely not herself… The last verse says, "Let her own works praise her in the gates." So it will be too when the marriage of the Lamb is celebrated in public… Still, she will know that it is all the result of His own grace.
One writer sees this praise arriving late — after the work is finished:
Toil and care for the good of others was the main thing in her useful and unselfish life. Now she has gone to her rest, and her works follow her… But even here in time, are not the servants of Christ from past generations praised today by those who profit from their labours?
- Fear — Charm and looks carry no weight at the gates; the fear of the Lord is what earns honourable mention there.
- Fruit — She is not only praised. She is handed back what her hands made, and what was gained for Him proves to be hers too.
- Gates — The public place of judgment is the last word of Proverbs, given so that we work now in the light of that day.
- God — Others will see her worth in the end. But the praise that counts comes from God, who forgets nothing done in faith.
- Grace — She wears the garment she wove and gets full credit for it, while knowing the whole thing came from His grace.