PROV 31:24 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 31:24

This verse continues the topic of making clothes (31:13) and working hard to make a profit (31:18).

31:24

The underlined parts describe the wife’s work in making and selling clothes to traders or other business people. The parts in bold print describe two of her products.

^24aShe makes linen garments and sells them;

^24bshe delivers sashes to the merchants.

31:24a

She makes linen garments and sells them;

¶ She makes clothes of linen cloth and sells them.
¶ She sells clothes that she makes from good quality cloth.

She makes linen garments and sells them: There are two ways to interpret the clause She makes linen garments:

It means that she makes clothing. For example:
She makes linen clothes (NCV) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, NAB, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NLT, NRSV, GNT)
It means that she makes or weaves cloth. For example:
She weaves linen (REB) (NJB, NJPS, REB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions. The verse does not specify whether the linen garments are undergarments or outer robes. It is recommended that you translate in a way that allows either kind of garment. Another way to translate this line is:

She uses good quality cloth to make clothes and sells them

31:24a–b

(combined/reordered)

¶ She makes expensive clothes and belts and sells them to people/traders who buy and sell things in the market.

31:24b

she delivers sashes to the merchants.

She also sells sashes/belts to the merchants/traders.
She also delivers/supplies belts to shopkeepers/businessmen in the market.

she delivers: The word delivers is literally “gives.” It means that she supplies the merchants with her products in exchange for payment.UBS (page 661).

sashes to: The word sashes refers to cloth belts that were used to fasten the linen tunics or robes around the waist.Hubbard (page 483).

Some other ways to translate this line are:

and she supplies belts for tradesmen to carry across the sea (VOICE)

and stocks the merchants with belts (NAB)

and delivers belts to the merchants (GW)

the merchants: The word that the BSB translates as merchants is literally “Canaanites.” It can refer specifically to Phoenician traders or more generally to any traders or shopkeepers.Toy (page 547).

General Comment on 31:24a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in these lines. See 31:24a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

סָדִ֣ין & וַ֝⁠חֲג֗וֹר & לַֽ⁠כְּנַעֲנִֽי

linen_garments & and,a_belt & to,merchants

Here, a linen garment, a belt, and the Canaanite refer to these things and people in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “linen garments … belts … to Canaanites”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וַ⁠תִּמְכֹּ֑ר

and,she_sold

Lemuel’s mother is leaving out a word that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You could supply this word from the context if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “and sells that garment”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

נָתְנָ֥ה

she/it_gave

Here, gives means that she supplies this belt to someone who pays her for the item and then sells it to others. She gives not give the belt away for free. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “she supplies”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

לַֽ⁠כְּנַעֲנִֽי

to,merchants

Here, Canaanite refers specifically to Canaanite traders. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “to the Canaanite trader” or “to someone who trades goods”

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 31:24

Hebrew word order