PROV 31:10 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 31:10–31: This poem describes a capable wife who has good character

In Hebrew, this section is arranged in the form of an acrostic poem. Each of its twenty-two verses begins with a different letter, following the normal order of the Hebrew alphabet. The poem praises the character and abilities of an ideal wife. After an introduction that describes her value (vv. 10–12), the poem describes her activities and achievements in various areas (vv. 13–27). It concludes with praise by her family (vv. 28–29) and all the people (vv. 30–31). The last two verses also serve as the poet’s final conclusion. They summarize what is truly important in an ideal wife.Waltke (page 515) says that the final two verses are praise “by all.” Murphy (page 245) agrees that the “praise” in the final two verses is the “goal or purpose of the poem.”

Some other headings for this section are:

A good wife with many abilities

Description of a Worthy Woman (NASB)

A truly good wife (CEV)

Paragraph 31:10–12

This introductory paragraph describes the value of the ideal wife in two ways:

She is a woman who is both capable and good. Such a woman is hard to find and is extremely valuable (v. 10).
She benefits her husband in many ways (vv. 11–12).

31:10

^10aA wife of noble character, who can find?

^10bShe is far more precious than rubies.

31:10a

A wife of noble character, who can find?

Who can find a wife who is skillful/capable and has a good character? It is not easy to do.
There are very few virtuous/godly women with many abilities that a person/man can find to marry.

A wife of noble character, who can find?: This is a rhetorical question. It means that it is very difficult to find A wife of noble character. It implies that few such women are available for a man to marry. Some ways to translate this question are:

Use a slightly different rhetorical question. For example:
Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? (NLT)
Use a rhetorical question and make the implied answer explicit. For example:
Is it easy to find a good wife with many abilities/skills? No, it is not.
Use a statement. For example:
It is hard to find a good wife (NCV)
There are very few virtuous and capable women that a person can find to marry.

A wife of noble character: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as noble character usually means “strength” or “power.” In this context, it indicates a wife who has a good, morally strong character and is also competent. Most versions use only one expression to describe her. For example:

a wife with a strong character (GW)

A capable wife (NRSV)

Some languages may have one expression that covers both meanings of the Hebrew word. If not, you may use more than one term. For example:

a clever wife with a good character

See how you translated A wife of noble character in 12:4.

31:10b

She is far more precious than rubies.

A wife/woman like that is far more valuable than rubies/pearls.
The value/worth of such a woman exceeds the value of the most expensive jewels.

She is far more precious than rubies: In Hebrew, the word rubies may also refer to “red coral” (REB) or “pearls” (NJB). The meaning is uncertain. So some English versions use a more general term, such as “jewels” (ESV). If you use a specific term such as “rubies” or “pearls,” be sure that these items are considered to be extremely valuable. See how you translated the same word in 20:15.

Some other ways to translate this line are:

She is far more precious than jewels. (NRSV)

For her value is far more than rubies (NET)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

אֵֽשֶׁת־חַ֭יִל מִ֣י יִמְצָ֑א

wife_of noble_character who? find

Lemuel’s mother is using the question form to emphasize the difficulty of finding a wife of worth. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation Alternate translation: “Not many men can find a woman of worth!”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

אֵֽשֶׁת־חַ֭יִל & מִכְרָֽ⁠הּ

wife_of noble_character & price_of,her

A woman of worth and her refer to a type of woman in general, not a particular woman. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “Any woman of worth … that woman’s value”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

אֵֽשֶׁת־חַ֭יִל

wife_of noble_character

Here, Lemuel’s mother is using the possessive form to describe a woman who is characterized by worth. If your language would not use the possessive form for this, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “A worthy woman”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

חַ֭יִל

noble_character

Here, worth refers to both physical ability and moral worth. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “physical and moral worth”

Note 5 topic: translate-unknown

מִ⁠פְּנִינִ֣ים

more,than_corals

See how you translated corals in [3:15](../03/15.md).

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.