Verses 13-15 describe the activity of the wife in providing for the needs of the household. Verse 13 is about providing clothing, and verses 14-15 are about providing food.

“She seeks wool and flax”: “Seeks” means that she “finds” or “selects” what she needs. “Wool” and “flax” are the raw materials used for making clothing. “Wool”, the hair of sheep is used to make warm clothes; “flax”, a grass-like plant, gives soft fibers for making cooler clothes (called linen). Contemporary English Version translates this line simply as “She . . . makes clothes”; a translation in a language where wool and flax are not well known says “She makes clothes for the cold season and for the hot season.”

“And works with willing hands”: Following on from the previous line, this refers to spinning and weaving cloth, and making clothes with that cloth. The word translated “willing” means “delight” or “pleasure.” Some versions render the expression “with willing hands” as “with eager hands” (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible), but others express “willing” as describing the woman’s activity rather than her hands; for example, “and delights to work with her hands” (Scott) and “with a will she sets about her work” (Revised English Bible). Good News Translation changes the order of the lines and says, “She keeps herself busy making wool and linen cloth.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .