Bible Study Proverbs 31
‹ Proverbs

Proverbs 31 · WEB

The Excellent Wife

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

Tap a verse to copy it, open the Hebrew, or write a note.

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

Summary

Proverbs 31 closes the book with two sections: the instruction of a mother to her royal son (vv. 1-9) — counsel against women, wine, and injustice, and for speaking up for those who cannot speak — and the famous poem of the "excellent" or "worthy" wife (vv. 10-31). The poem is a Hebrew acrostic (one letter per verse), portraying a woman of extraordinary capability, enterprise, generosity, and wisdom. The climax is theological: charm is deceptive, beauty fades, but a woman who fears Yahweh will be praised. The whole book of Proverbs thus closes where it began: with the fear of Yahweh.

Themes

  • Royal ethics: avoid wine, stand for the voiceless
  • The worthy wife as the embodiment of wisdom in daily life
  • Enterprise, generosity, strength, and dignity as feminine virtues
  • The fear of Yahweh as the foundation of all praiseworthy character
  • The whole book's circle: wisdom begins and ends with the fear of God

Key verses

  • Prov 31:25 — “Strength and dignity are her clothing. She laughs at the time to come.”
  • Prov 31:30 — “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears Yahweh, she shall be praised.”
  • Prov 31:8-9 — “Open your mouth for the mute, in the cause of all who are left desolate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and serve justice to the poor and needy.”

Context & background

Proverbs 31's "worthy woman" poem (*eshet chayil* — woman of valor/strength) is an acrostic covering all 22 Hebrew letters — a literary "complete" portrait. She is a composite ideal, not necessarily a single biography. She engages in real estate (v. 16), textile trade (v. 24), household management (v. 15, 27), physical fitness (v. 17), charitable giving (v. 20), and wise speech (v. 26). She is praised by her children, her husband, and ultimately her own works at the city gates (v. 31). The poem has been read as a portrait of Lady Wisdom embodied in a real human life — the abstract Wisdom of chapters 1-9 made flesh. Rabbinic tradition recites this poem at the Shabbat table as an honor to wives. The mother's instruction (vv. 1-9) is unique in Proverbs — the only extended speech by a woman, counseling a king.

Cross-references

  • 1 Peter 3:3-4 — "your beauty should not come from outward adornment... rather, it should be that of your inner self" — v. 30
  • Ephesians 5:25-33 — the mutual honor of husband and wife — vv. 11-12, 23, 28
  • Isaiah 58:6-7 — "loose the chains of injustice... share your food with the hungry" — vv. 8-9, 20
  • Proverbs 1:7; 9:10 — the fear of Yahweh as the beginning of wisdom — v. 30's conclusion
  • Ruth 3:11 — Boaz tells Ruth: "all the townspeople know that you are a woman of noble character" — the same *eshet chayil* description

Check your reading

Log in to take the quiz and save your progress.

  1. Observe

    List the activities of the excellent wife (vv. 10-27).

  2. Observe

    What is the theological foundation of her praise (v. 30)?

  3. Interpret

    What does it mean to "laugh at the time to come" (v. 25)?

  4. Interpret

    What is the unity of Proverbs's moral vision (vv. 30, 1:7)?

  5. Apply

    Where in one's sphere is someone voiceless needing one to speak up?

  6. Apply

    What is the one thing to take from Proverbs into daily life?

Your journal

Write your own answers — they save automatically, and only you can see them.

Log in to write and save journal answers.

Apply (How does it apply to me?)

Personal notes (anything else about this chapter)