PROV 31:19 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX τοὺς πήχεις αὐτῆς ἐκτείνει ἐπὶ τὰ συμφέροντα, τὰς δὲ χεῖρας αὐτῆς ἐρείδει εἰς ἄτρακτον.
(tous paʸⱪeis autaʸs ekteinei epi ta sumferonta, tas de ⱪeiras autaʸs ereidei eis atrakton. )

BrTr She reaches forth her arms to needful works, and applies her hands to the spindle.

ULT She stretches out her hands at the distaff,
⇔ and her palms grasp the spindle.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE She lays her hands to the distaff,
⇔ and her hands hold the spindle.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Her hands take hold of the distaff,
⇔ and her hands grasp the spindle.

LSV She has sent forth her hands on a spindle,
And her hands have held a distaff.

FBV She spins the thread and weaves the cloth.[fn]

31:19 The Hebrew refers to the distaff and spindle used in spinning and weaving, but not much known in modern life.

T4T She holds the ◄spindle/rod which twists the thread that she is making►,
⇔ and then she spins the thread [MTY] that she will use.

LEB • Her hands she puts onto the distaff,[fn] and her palms hold a spindle.

31:? A stick or spindle onto which wool or flax is wound in preparation for spinning

BBE She puts her hands to the cloth-working rod, and her fingers take the wheel.

Moff she sets her hand to the distaff
⇔ her fingers hold the spindle.

JPS She layeth her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.

ASV She layeth her hands to the distaff,
⇔ And her hands hold the spindle.

DRA She hath put out her hand to strong things, and her fingers have taken hold of the spindle.

YLT Her hands she hath sent forth on a spindle, And her hands have held a distaff.

Drby She putteth her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.

RV She layeth her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
(She layeth/lays her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. )

SLT She sent forth her hands upon the spindle, and her hands take hold of the whirl.

Wbstr She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

KJB-1769 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
(She layeth/lays her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. )

KJB-1611 She layeth her handes to the spindle, and her handes hold the distaffe.
(She layeth/lays her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaffe.)

Bshps She layeth her fingers to the spindle, & her hande taketh holde of the distaffe.
(She layeth/lays her fingers to the spindle, and her hand taketh/takes hold of the distaffe.)

Gnva She putteth her handes to the wherue, and her handes handle the spindle.
(She putteth/puts her hands to the wherue, and her hands handle the spindle. )

Cvdl She layeth hir fyngers to the spyndle, & hir hande taketh holde of ye rocke.
(She layeth/lays her fingers to the spyndle, and her hand taketh/takes hold of ye/you_all rock.)

Wycl Sche putte hir hondis to stronge thingis, and hir fyngris token the spyndil.
(She put her hands to strong things, and her fingers token the spyndil.)

Luth Sie streckt ihre Hand nach dem Rocken, und ihre Finger fassen die Spindel.
(They/She stretches their/her hand after to_him Rocken, and their/her finger grasp/take/touch the Spindel.)

ClVg Manum suam misit ad fortia, et digiti ejus apprehenderunt fusum.[fn]
(Hand his_own he_sent to bravea, and fingers his they_arrested fusum. )

31.19 Manum suam misit. Fortia dicit, perfecta in charitate opera, etc., usque ad de cujus fortitudine dicitur: Regnum cœlorum vim patitur, et violenti rapiunt illud Matth. 11.. Et digiti ejus, inquit, apprehenderunt fusum. Colus in sinistra, fusus in dextera, etc., usque ad quid autem mulier fortis, scilicet sancta Ecclesia vel anima perfecta per fusum operata sit; subjungit:

31.19 Hand his_own he_sent. Fortia he_says, perfecta in/into/on with_love works, etc., until to from/about whose with_courage it_is_said: Regnum of_the_heavens force suffers, and violenti rapiunt it/this/that Matth. 11.. And fingers his, he_said, they_arrested fusum. Colus in/into/on sinistra, fusus in/into/on right_hand, etc., until to what however woman strong/powerful, namely holy Assembly/Church or the_soul perfecta through fusum works sit; subjoins:

SOTN 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 31:19–22

This paragraph describes the wife’s work to provide clothing and bed coverings for her family (31:19, 21, 22). It also describes her generous help to the poor (31:20).

31:19

This verse describes the work of spinning the wool fibers into yarn or the flax fibers into thread. The two lines are almost identical in meaning, because the “distaff” and “spindle” are pieces of the same equipment. The woman reaches out and grasps both pieces at the same time. Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^19a She stretches out her hands to the distaff

^19band grasps the spindle with her fingers.

The parallel parts form a chiasm. The parts in 31:19a occur in the opposite order from the parallel parts in 31:19b. If a chiasm is not natural in your language, you may need to reorder the parts in one of the lines. For example, 31:19a could be reordered as follows:

^19a She holds the distaff in her hand

31:19a–b

(combined/reordered)

¶ She herself spins/makes yarn and thread to weave into cloth.

These parallel lines are more literally “She stretches out her hands on the distaff and her palms grasp the spindle.”

She stretches out her hands…grasps…with her fingers: In Hebrew, the word translated hands includes the forearms as well as the hands. The word translated fingers is literally “palms.” It refers here to either hands or the fingers.

the distaff…the spindle: The distaff and the spindle are two parts of the equipment that is used to spin wool or flax. The distaff is a stick around which the wool or flax fibers are wrapped before they are spun. The spindle is a rod that is used to twist these fibers into yarn or thread. As the yarn/thread is spun, it also winds around part of the spindle.New Bible Dictionary (page 1125), All Nations Christian Home and School Dictionary, UBS (page 658). According to some commentaries, the first Hebrew word (kišor) does not refer to the distaff but rather to a different part of the apparatus called a doubling spindle, spindle whorl, or whorl. This part is used along with the spindle to spin/twist two or more fibers to make a thicker, stronger yarn or thread. See Waltke (pages 511–512), Fox (page 889), Longman (pages 535, 545), and Hubbard (page 482) for more details. Also see the New Bible Dictionary for specific details about the parts of the apparatus and the way they are used.

Some other ways to translate these parallel lines are:

General Comment on 31:19a–b

Specify the parts of the body and the parts of the equipment. For example:
She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle. (NASB)
Her hands skillfully place the unspun flax and wool on the distaff, and her fingers twist the spindle until thread forms. (VOICE)
Specify the parts of the body and the function of the equipment. For example:
Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber. (NLT)

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in these lines.The GNT expands the meaning of these lines to include the idea of weaving cloth. It has “She spins her own thread and weaves her own cloth.” Perhaps the GNT is considering the meaning of 31:13 along with 31:19 to summarize both tasks, but 31:19 by itself describes only the process of spinning the raw materials to make yarn or thread. For example:

She uses her own hands to spin/make yarn and thread.

She works hard to spin/make yarn and thread.

31:19a

She stretches out her hands to the distaff

¶ She reaches out her arms to hold the distaff
¶ She wraps the wool and flax fibers around a stick/rod.

31:19b

and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

and twists/rotates the spindle with her fingers.
Then she stretches and twists them to make yarn and thread.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

יָ֭דֶי⁠הָ שִׁלְּחָ֣ה בַ⁠כִּישׁ֑וֹר וְ֝⁠כַפֶּ֗י⁠הָ תָּ֣מְכוּ פָֽלֶךְ

hands_of,her puts on,distaff and,her_of,palms hold spindle

This verse refers to the process of making thread, which is used to make clothing. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “She stretches out her hands at the distaff, and she grasps the spindle in order to make thread”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

יָ֭דֶי⁠הָ שִׁלְּחָ֣ה בַ⁠כִּישׁ֑וֹר

hands_of,her puts on,distaff

Here, stretches out her hands means to holding something. If this phrase does not have that meaning in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “She takes hold of the distaff”

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

בַ⁠כִּישׁ֑וֹר

on,distaff

The word distaff refers to a thin rod with pointed ends that is used to make thread. If your readers would not be familiar with this type of tool, you could use the name of something similar in your area or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: “the tool for making thread”

Note 4 topic: translate-unknown

פָֽלֶךְ

spindle

The word spindle refers to a piece of wood around which someone wraps the thread when making thread. If your readers would not be familiar with this type of tool, you could use the name of something similar in your area or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: “the tool for holding thread”