PROV 31:21 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=minor/spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) She’s not worried about her household when it snows,
⇔ because they’re all dressed in quality clothes.

Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
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 Οὐ φροντίζει τῶν ἐν οἴκῳ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς ὅταν που χρονίζῃ, πάντες γὰρ οἱ παρʼ αὐτῆς ἐνδεδυμένοι εἰαί.
(Ou frontizei tōn en oikōi ho anaʸr autaʸs hotan pou ⱪronizaʸ, pantes gar hoi parʼ autaʸs endedumenoi eiai. )

BrTr Her husband is not anxious about those at home when he tarries anywhere abroad: for all [fn]her household are clothed.

ULT She does not fear for her house because of snow,
⇔ for all her house is clothed with crimson.

UST She is not worried that her family will be cold during cold weather
⇔ because her whole family has the best clothing.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
⇔ for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
⇔ for all of her household are clothed with scarlet.

LSV She is not afraid of her household from snow,
For all her household are clothed [with] scarlet.

FBV She doesn't worry if it snows, because her whole family has warm[fn] clothing.

31:21 “Warm” following the implications of the Septuagint reading. Hebrew has “scarlet,” simply meaning expensive clothing.

T4T She is not worried that the people in her house will be cold in the winter,
⇔ because she has made warm clothes for all of them.

LEB • She does not fear for her house when it snows, for her entire household[fn] is clothed in crimson.

31:? Literally “all her house, household”

BBE She has no fear of the snow for her family, for all those in her house are clothed in red.

Moff She fears not snow for her household;
⇔ for they all wear scarlet wool.

JPS She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

ASV She is not afraid of the snow for her household;
⇔ For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

DRA She shall not fear for her house in the cold of snow: for all her domestics are clothed with double garments.

YLT She is not afraid of her household from snow, For all her household are clothed [with] scarlet.

Drby She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

RV She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

SLT She will not fear for her house from snow, for all her house put on double.

Wbstr She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

KJB-1769 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.[fn]

31.21 scarlet: or, double garments

KJB-1611 [fn]She is not afraid of the snow for her houshold: for all her houshold are cloathed with scarlet.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above apart from footnotes)

31:21 Or, double garments.

Bshps She feareth not that the colde of wynter shall hurt her housholde, for all her housholde folkes are clothed with scarlet.
(She feareth not that the cold of winter shall hurt her household, for all her household folks/people are clothed with scarlet.)

Gnva She feareth not the snowe for her familie: for all her familie is clothed with skarlet.
(She feareth not the snow for her familie: for all her family is clothed with scarlet. )

Cvdl She feareth not yt the colde of wynter shal hurte hir house, for all hir housholde folkes are duble clothed.
(She feareth not it the cold of winter shall hurt her house, for all her household folks/people are duble clothed.)

Wycl Sche schal not drede for hir hous of the cooldis of snow; for alle hir meyneals ben clothid with double clothis.
(She shall not dread for her house of the cooldis of snow; for all her meyneals been clothed with double clothes.)

Luth Sie fürchtet ihres Hauses nicht vor dem Schnee, denn ihr ganzes Haus hat zwiefache Kleider.
(They/She fears(v) theirs/hers houses not before/in_front_of to_him snow, because/than you(pl)/their/her whole house has doublye clothes.)

ClVg Non timebit domui suæ a frigoribus nivis; omnes enim domestici ejus vestiti sunt duplicibus.[fn]
(Not/No he_will_be_afraid home his/her_own from frigoribus snow; everyone because domestic his dressed are doublebus. )

31.21 Non timebit. Frigora nivis, etc., usque ad quia credidit Deo dicenti quod portæ inferi non prævalebunt adversus eam Matth. 16.. Omnes enim domestici ejus vestiti sunt duplicibus, etc. Sapientia scilicet, ad hæreses revelandas, et patientia ad tolerandas apertorum nostium pugnas, etc., usque ad qui merito in frigore religatur, quia vestem pietatis non habebat.

31.21 Not/No he_will_be_afraid. Frigora snow, etc., until to because believed to_God they_will_sayi that gates hell not/no they_will_prevail against her Matth. 16.. All_of_them because domestic his dressed are doublebus, etc. Wisdom namely, to heires to_be_revealeds, and patience/endurance to tolerandas openrum you_knowum fights, etc., until to who/which deservedly in/into/on cold religatur, because clothing of_piety not/no had.

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).

31:21

In this verse, the first line gives the result (“no fear”). The second line gives the reason (fine clothing).

^21aWhen it snows, she has no fear for her household,

^21bfor they are all clothed in scarlet.

31:21a

When it snows, she has no fear for her household,

When it snows, she does not worry about her household.
She has no reason to worry about her family and servants in the cold season,

When it snows: The phrase When it snows refers to the time of year when the weather is cold enough for snow to fall. In Palestine, this winter season lasts from November to February.Waltke (page 530). Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

when it is winter

when it is cold season

she has no fear for her household: The phrase she has no fear means that she is not worried or anxious. The word household is the same word as in 31:15. It probably refers here to the servants as well as the members of the family.See the NJB “she has no fears for her household, with all her servants warmly clothed.” In 31:15, there was a separate verse part (c) that specified the servant girls, so the NIV translated part (b) as “family.” Here in 31:21, it refers to “all” in the household. The BSB translates the word as “her household” in both places.

Some other ways to translate this line are:

She has no fear of winter for her household (NLT)

She is not worried about her household when cold weather arrives

31:21a–b

(combined/reordered)

Her entire household has expensive, warm clothes to wear, so she has no reason to worry when cold weather arrives.

31:21b

for they are all clothed in scarlet.

All of them have expensive red clothes that will keep them warm.
because all of them wear warm clothes that are carefully/well made.
They all have the best quality clothes, so they do not get cold.

for they are all clothed in scarlet: There are two textual options here for the Hebrew word that the BSB translates as scarlet:

The Masoretic Text (MT), supported by the Syriac and Targum, have scarlet or “crimson.” For example:
for all her household are clothed in crimson (NRSV) (BSB, ESV, KJV, NASB, NET, NIV, NJPS, NRSV)
The LXX and Latin Vulgate change some of the vowels to get a word that means “two” or “double.” For example:
because her whole family has a double layer of clothing (GW) (GW, NAB, REB)

It is recommended that you follow the MT, along with most English versions. The main argument against the MT is that a bright color is not relevant to keeping warm in cold weather.Hubbard, Murphy, Whybray, and Toy all argue that bright crimson clothing signified luxury rather than warmth. Kidner (page 184) also comments that the word “scarlet” has an unusual plural ending. The main argument in favor of the MT is that scarlet clothing was made out of wool. So it was warm and of high quality as well as being luxurious.Waltke, Fox, Garrett, McKane, and Cohen all support the Masoretic Text. Waltke (page 530) comments that the crimson color represents “costly wool.” He points out (page 512) that crimson wool combines the ideas of luxury and warmth. The color also fits well with the “purple dyed wool” in v.22.

Some ways to translate this line are:

General Comment on 31:21a–b

Specify the color and add a footnote to explain the significance. For example:
For her whole household is dressed in crimson. (NJPS)
Suggested Footnote: Bright red clothing was expensive. It was also warm because it was made from wool.
Describe the clothing as “warm.” This will fit either of the textual options. For example:
for everyone has warm clothes (NLT)
Combine the ideas of high quality and warmth. For example:
because they all have fine clothes to keep them warm (NCV)
for she has clothed them all in warm, crimson coats (VOICE)

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine some of the words or phrases in these lines or to reorder the reason before the result. For example:

Her entire household has expensive, warm clothes to wear, so she has no reason to worry when cold weather arrives.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

לְ⁠בֵיתָ֣⁠הּ & כָל־בֵּ֝יתָ֗⁠הּ

for,her_of,household & all household_of,her

See how you translated the same use of her house in [31:15](../31/15.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

לֹא־תִירָ֣א לְ⁠בֵיתָ֣⁠הּ

not afraid for,her_of,household

Here, Lemuel’s mother implies that this woman does not fear for her house to become cold. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “She does not fear for her house to become cold”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

מִ⁠שָּׁ֑לֶג

from,snow

Here, snow refers to cold weather, which is the time when snow falls. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “because of cold weather” or “because of winter”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

לָבֻ֥שׁ שָׁנִֽים

clothed years

If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “she has clothed with crimson”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

שָׁנִֽים

years

Here, crimson refers to warm clothing that is made from expensive crimson cloth. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “have expensive, warm clothing”