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.