PROV 31:17 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 31:16–18

This paragraph describes the wife’s wise purchase and use of additional land (v. 16), her physical strength (v. 17), and her motivation to work even at night (v. 18).

31:17

These two parallel lines are similar in meaning:

^17aShe girds herself with strength

^17band shows that her arms are strong.

31:17a

She girds herself with strength

When she begins to work, it is as if she wraps strength around her waist like a belt.
She prepares herself to work vigorously/hard.

She girds herself with strength: This line is literally “She girds her loins with strength.” To prepare for difficult work, a person in that culture wrapped their tunic or robe tightly around their waist with a belt so that their clothing would not interfere with their movements. In this context, the wife figuratively girds herself with strength. It means that she begins to work vigorously.

In areas where people are familiar with the custom of fastening loose clothing around the waist, it may be possible to keep the figure of speech. For example:

She puts on strength like a belt (GW)

She dresses herself with strength (ESV)

Some other ways to translate this line without a figure of speech are:

She begins her work vigorously (NET)

She does her work with energy (NCV)

31:17a–b

(combined/reordered)

She is strong and industrious. She works hard every day.

31:17b

and shows that her arms are strong.

Her arms are also strong for her work.
As she works, it can be seen that her arms are strong.

shows that her arms are strong: Here are some other ways to translate this verse part:

and shows how strong her arms can be (NJB)

and her arms are strong (NCV)

General Comment on 31:17a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder these parallel lines. For example:

She is a hard worker, strong and industrious. (GNT)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

חָֽגְרָ֣ה & מָתְנֶ֑י⁠הָ

girds & loins_of,her

The phrase girds her loins refers to preparing to do work; this act involved tying up the loose ends of one’s clothes with a belt so that the clothes do not get in the person’s way while working. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “She prepares herself to work”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

בְ⁠ע֣וֹז

with,strength

Here, strength indicates the manner by which she girds her loins. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “in a strong manner” or “strongly”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וַ֝⁠תְּאַמֵּ֗ץ זְרֹעוֹתֶֽי⁠הָ

and,she_strengthened arms_of,her

Here, Lemuel’s mother implies that this woman strengthens her arms by working hard. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “she strengthens her arms by doing hard work”

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.

OET interlinear PROV 31:17

Hebrew word order