Verse 16-18 describe the wife’s financial enterprise, as she manages her own work in a businesslike way and invests in property.

“She considers a field and buys it”: “She considers” may mean either “she gives thought to [the venture]” or “she inspects [property].” Following the first possibility, Revised English Bible has “After careful thought she buys a field”; an example of the second possibility is Good News Translation “She looks at land and buys it.”

“With the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard”: “The fruit of her hands” is understood to refer to “money she has earned” (Good News Translation), that is, “her earnings” (New International Version, Revised English Bible). There is nothing in the text to suggest that this is profit from her dealing in property as mentioned in the previous line; rather “she plants a vineyard” is another agricultural activity that this woman is proficient in, and which she is able to finance. “A vineyard” is an area of land where someone plants grapevines and grows grapes. Contemporary English Version translates the whole verse as follows: “She knows how to buy land and how to plant a vineyard.”

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 .