31:15
This verse describes the work that the wife does to prepare a morning meal for everyone in the household.
15a She rises while it is still night
15b to provide food for her household
15c and portions for her maidservants.
31:15a
She rises while it is still night: The phrase while it is still night refers to the time just before dawn before it gets light. Some languages have specific words for this early morning time. Some other ways to translate this line are:
She gets up before daylight (Good News Translation)
-or-
She gets up before dawn (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
She wakes up while it is still dark (God’s Word)
31:15b
to provide food for her household: This line means that she prepares the morning meal for her family and gives them their food. In the context of a household with servants, it probably implies that she supervises the work of the servants in cooking the meal. Some other ways to translate this line are:
to prepare food for her family (Good News Translation)
-or-
and gives food to her family (God’s Word)
31:15c
and portions for her maidservants: There are two ways to interpret the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as portions :
(1) It means that she gives a portion of food to her servant girls. For example:
and portions of food to her female slaves (God’s Word)
(2) It means that she gives assigned tasks to her servant girls. For example:
and to tell her servant women what to do (Good News Translation)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and commentaries.
Some other ways to translate this line are:
and feeds her servant girls (New Century Version)
-or-
with a due share for her servants (Revised English Bible)
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