Proverbs 31
Big idea: The book ends in a woman's voice and with a woman's portrait, and both are about work. A queen mother defines kingship by whose voice the king lends his own to, and then twenty-two verses — one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in order — show wisdom with a household and a ledger. Chapter 1 had wisdom calling in the street as an abstraction; chapter 31 has her buying a field. And the last line refuses to let competence be the moral: what is praised is not the portfolio but the fear of Yahweh, which is where the book began.
Proverbs ends with wisdom no longer an abstraction but a person running a household. Ecclesiastes opens the next book by asking whether any of it lasts.
31:1–9 — What his mother taught him
A third named voice, and the only instruction in the book credited explicitly to a woman's teaching. Her charge is short and it defines a king negatively before positively — not wine, not women — but the reason given for the wine is the surprise: it is judicial, not moral. A drunk king forgets the law, and someone afflicted pays for it. Everything then resolves into two imperatives about the mouth, and both are on behalf of people who have none.
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.”
31:10–31 — A worthy woman: her works praise her in the gates
An acrostic — twenty-two verses for the twenty-two letters of the alphabet — and therefore one indivisible unit that could not be abridged even if a reader wanted to. What it does is put wisdom in a body, a household and a marketplace: the woman evaluates a field and buys it, runs a textile trade, and extends her hands to the needy in the middle of it. The poem is often read as a checklist for a wife, which the last verse quietly refuses — the thing praised at the end is not any of the achievements listed.
10 Who can find a worthy woman? For her value 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. Kind 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!
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).