Passage

Proverbs 31

Book: Proverbs · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. The words of king Lemuel; the oracle which his mother taught him. 2. What, my son? and what, O son of my womb? And what, O son of my vows? 3. Give not thy strength unto women, Nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. 4. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; Nor for princes to say, Where is strong drink? 5. Lest they drink, and forget the law, And pervert the justice due to any that is afflicted. 6. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, And wine unto the bitter in soul: 7. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more. 8. Open thy mouth for the dumb, In the cause of all such as are left desolate. 9. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, And minister justice to the poor and needy. 10. A worthy woman who can find? For her price is far above rubies. 11. The heart of her husband trusteth in her, And he shall have no lack of gain. 12. She doeth him good and not evil All the days of her life. 13. She seeketh wool and flax, And worketh willingly with her hands. 14. She is like the merchant-ships; She bringeth her bread from afar. 15. She riseth also while it is yet night, And giveth food to her household, And their task to her maidens. 16. She considereth a field, and buyeth it; With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. 17. She girdeth her loins with strength, And maketh strong her arms. 18. She perceiveth that her merchandise is profitable: Her lamp goeth not out by night. 19. She layeth her hands to the distaff, And her hands hold the spindle. 20. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. 21. She is not afraid of the snow for her household; For all her household are clothed with scarlet. 22. She maketh for herself carpets of tapestry; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. 23. Her husband is known in the gates, When he sitteth among the elders of the land. 24. She maketh linen garments and selleth them, And delivereth girdles unto the merchant. 25. Strength and dignity are her clothing; And she laugheth at the time to come. 26. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; And the law of kindness is on her tongue. 27. She looketh well to the ways of her household, And eateth not the bread of idleness. 28. Her children rise up, and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praiseth her, saying: 29. Many daughters have done worthily, But thou excellest them all. 30. Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain; But a woman that feareth Jehovah, she shall be praised. 31. Give her of the fruit of her hands; And let her works praise her in the gates." (Proverbs 31:1-31, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. The words of king Lemuel; the revelation which his mother taught him. 2. “Oh, my son! Oh, son of my womb! Oh, son of my vows! 3. Don’t give your strength to women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings. 4. It is not for kings, Lemuel; it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes to say, ‘Where is strong drink?’ 5. lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the justice due to anyone who is afflicted. 6. Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish; and wine to the bitter in soul: 7. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. 8. Open your mouth for the mute, in the cause of all who are left desolate. 9. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and serve justice to the poor and needy.” 10. Who can find a worthy woman? For her price is far above rubies. 11. The heart of her husband trusts in her. He shall have no lack of gain. 12. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. 13. She seeks wool and flax, and works eagerly with her hands. 14. She is like the merchant ships. She brings her bread from afar. 15. She rises also while it is yet night, gives food to her household, and portions for her servant girls. 16. She considers a field, and buys it. With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard. 17. She arms her waist with strength, and makes her arms strong. 18. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp doesn’t go out by night. 19. She lays her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. 20. She opens her arms to the poor; yes, she extends her hands to the needy. 21. She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet. 22. She makes for herself carpets of tapestry. Her clothing is fine linen and purple. 23. Her husband is respected in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land. 24. She makes linen garments and sells them, and delivers sashes to the merchant. 25. Strength and dignity are her clothing. She laughs at the time to come. 26. She opens her mouth with wisdom. Faithful instruction is on her tongue. 27. She looks well to the ways of her household, and doesn’t eat the bread of idleness. 28. Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her: 29. “Many women do noble things, but you excel them all.” 30. Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears Yahweh, she shall be praised. 31. Give her of the fruit of her hands! Let her works praise her in the gates!" (Proverbs 31:1-31, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. 2. What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? 3. Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. 4. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: 5. Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. ^{prevert: Heb. alter} ^{of any: Heb. of all the sons of affliction} 6. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. ^{of: Heb. bitter of soul} 7. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. 8. Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. ^{such: Heb. the sons of destruction} 9. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. 10. Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 11. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. 13. She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. 14. She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. 15. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. 16. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. ^{buyeth: Heb. taketh} 17. She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. 18. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. ^{She: Heb. She tasteth} 19. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. 20. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. ^{She: Heb. She spreadeth} 21. She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. ^{scarlet: or, double garments} 22. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. 23. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. 24. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. 25. Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 26. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. 27. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 28. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. 29. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. ^{have: or, have gotten riches} 30. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. 31. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates." (Proverbs 31:1-31, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. Words of Lemuel a king, a declaration that his mother taught him: 2. 'What, my son? and what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows? 3. Give not to women thy strength, And thy ways to wiping away of kings. 4. Not for kings, O Lemuel, Not for kings, to drink wine, And for princes a desire of strong drink. 5. Lest he drink, and forget the decree, And change the judgment of any of the sons of affliction. 6. Give strong drink to the perishing, And wine to the bitter in soul, 7. He drinketh, and forgetteth his poverty, And his misery he remembereth not again. 8. Open thy mouth for the dumb, For the right of all sons of change. 9. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, Both the cause of the poor and needy!' 10. A woman of worth who doth find? Yea, far above rubies [is] her price. 11. The heart of her husband hath trusted in her, And spoil he lacketh not. 12. She hath done him good, and not evil, All days of her life. 13. She hath sought wool and flax, And with delight she worketh [with] her hands. 14. She hath been as ships of the merchant, From afar she bringeth in her bread. 15. Yea, she riseth while yet night, And giveth food to her household, And a portion to her damsels. 16. She hath considered a field, and taketh it, From the fruit of her hands she hath planted a vineyard. 17. She hath girded with might her loins, And doth strengthen her arms. 18. She hath perceived when her merchandise [is] good, Her lamp is not extinguished in the night. 19. Her hands she hath sent forth on a spindle, And her hands have held a distaff. 20. Her hand she hath spread forth to the poor, Yea, her hands she sent forth to the needy. 21. She is not afraid of her household from snow, For all her household are clothed [with] scarlet. 22. Ornamental coverings she hath made for herself, Silk and purple [are] her clothing. 23. Known in the gates is her husband, In his sitting with elders of the land. 24. Linen garments she hath made, and selleth, And a girdle she hath given to the merchant. 25. Strength and honour [are] her clothing, And she rejoiceth at a latter day. 26. Her mouth she hath opened in wisdom, And the law of kindness [is] on her tongue. 27. She [is] watching the ways of her household, And bread of sloth she eateth not. 28. Her sons have risen up, and pronounce her happy, Her husband, and he praiseth her, 29. 'Many [are] the daughters who have done worthily, Thou hast gone up above them all.' 30. The grace [is] false, and the beauty [is] vain, A woman fearing Jehovah, she may boast herself. 31. Give ye to her of the fruit of her hands, And her works do praise her in the gates!" (Proverbs 31:1-31, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Why these four translations

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

The four:

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

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