SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 2020 – Page 91

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:15

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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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:16

31:16–18

This paragraph describes the wife’s wise purchase and use of additional land (v. 16), her physical strength (v. 17), and her motivation to work even at night (v. 18).

31:16

16a She appraises a field and buys it;

16b from her earnings she plants a vineyard.

31:16a

She appraises a field and buys it: This line means that the wife goes to inspect a field. After she carefully thinks about the quality and value of the land, she buys it.

field: The term field refers in general to farmland. It can be used for any kind of crops or fruit trees. See how you translated this word in 24:30.

Some other ways to translate this line are:

She picks out a field to purchase (New American Bible)
-or-
After careful thought she buys a field (Revised English Bible)
-or-
She goes to inspect a field and buys it (New Living Translation (2004))

31:16b

from her earnings: The phrase her earnings refers to the money that she accumulates from her skillful management of the household and her sales of clothing (31:18, 31:24).

she plants a vineyard: This clause means that she plants grape vines in some farmland. The verse does not indicate whether this is the land she just bought or a different piece of land that the family already owned.

Some other ways to translate this line are:

from her own income she plants a vineyard (NET Bible)
-or-
She plants a vineyard from the profits she has earned. (God’s Word)
-or-
and with money she has earned she plants a vineyard (Good News Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:17

31:17

These two parallel lines are similar in meaning:

17a She girds herself with strength

17b and shows that her arms are strong.

31:17a

She girds herself with strength: This line is literally “She girds her loins with strength.” To prepare for difficult work, a person in that culture wrapped their tunic or robe tightly around their waist with a belt so that their clothing would not interfere with their movements. In this context, the wife figuratively girds herself with strength. It means that she begins to work vigorously.

In areas where people are familiar with the custom of fastening loose clothing around the waist, it may be possible to keep the figure of speech. For example:

She puts on strength like a belt (God’s Word)
-or-
She dresses herself with strength (English Standard Version)

Some other ways to translate this line without a figure of speech are:

She begins her work vigorously (NET Bible)
-or-
She does her work with energy (New Century Version)

31:17b

shows that her arms are strong: Here are some other ways to translate this verse part:

and shows how strong her arms can be (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
and her arms are strong (New Century Version)

General Comment on 31:17a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder these parallel lines. For example:

She is a hard worker, strong and industrious. (Good News Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:18

31:18

The wife’s success in trading (v. 18a) encourages her to work until late at night (v. 18b).

18a She sees that her gain is good,

18b and her lamp is not extinguished at night.

31:18a

She sees that her gain is good: This line is literally “She tastes that her profit is good.” The word “tastes” is figurative. It means “knows or learns by experience.” There are two ways to interpret this line:

(1) The wife knows that her business activities are making a good profit. For example:

She sees that her business goes well (Revised English Bible)

(2) The wife knows how her business works. She understands the value of her merchandise and the right time to trade. With this interpretation, she does not necessarily know whether her business is successful or not. For example:

She knows the value of everything she makes (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:

She perceives that her merchandise is profitable (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
She senses that her gain is good (New American Standard Bible)

31:18b

and her lamp is not extinguished at night: This statement is a hyperbole (deliberate exaggeration). It means that the wife keeps her lamp burning until late at night so that she can keep working.

lamp: The word lamp refers to an oil-burning lamp with a wick.

Some other ways to translate this line are:

• Keep the hyperbole. For example:

her lamp keeps burning the entire night

• Translate the meaning without the hyperbole. For example:

Her lamp burns late at night. (God’s Word)
-or-
and under lamplight she works deep into the night (The Voice)
-or-
and works late into the night (Good News Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:19

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

19b and 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

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.

Some other ways to translate these parallel lines are:

• 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. (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Her hands ⌊skillfully⌋ place ⌊the unspun flax and wool⌋ on the distaff, and her fingers twist the spindle ⌊until thread forms⌋ . (The 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. (New Living Translation (2004))

General Comment on 31:19a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in these lines. For example:

She uses her own hands to spin/make yarn and thread.
-or-
She works hard to spin/make yarn and thread.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:20

31:20

This verse describes the wife’s generous help to poor people. Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

She opens her arms to the poor

and reaches out her hands to the needy.

31:20a–b

She opens her arms…reaches out her hands: These parallel phrases both mean that she generously helps poor people. This help may include money, clothes, or food. The verse does not specify what she does to help them.

to the poor…to the needy: For the word poor, see the notes in 14:21b. For the word needy, see the notes in 14:31b. See how you translated these words in the second line of 31:9.

Some other ways to translate these parallel lines are:

She opens her hands to oppressed people and stretches them out to needy people. (God’s Word)
-or-
She reaches out her hands to poor people of low status. She generously helps people who need help.

General Comment on 31:20a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in these lines. For example:

She is generous to the poor and needy. (Good News Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:21

31:21

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

21a When it snows, she has no fear for her household,

21b for they are all clothed in scarlet.

31:21a

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. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

when it is winter
-or-
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.

Some other ways to translate this line are:

She has no fear of winter for her household (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
She is not worried about her household when cold weather arrives

31:21b

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

(1) The Masoretic Text (MT), supported by the Syriac and Targum, have scarlet or “crimson.” For example:

for all her household are clothed in crimson (New Revised Standard Version)

(2) 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 (God’s Word)

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. 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.

Some ways to translate this line are:

• Specify the color and add a footnote to explain the significance. For example:

For her whole household is dressed in crimson. (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

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 (New Living Translation (2004))

• Combine the ideas of high quality and warmth. For example:

because they all have fine clothes to keep them warm (New Century Version)
-or-
for she has clothed them all in ⌊warm⌋ , crimson ⌊coats⌋ (The Voice)

General Comment on 31:21a–b

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.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:22

31:22

The first line describes materials to cover her bed. The second line describes her expensive imported clothing.

22a She makes coverings for her bed;

22b her clothing is fine linen and purple.

31:22a

She makes coverings for her bed: This line is literally “She makes coverings for herself.” These coverings probably refer to things like sheets, bedspreads or quilts that give her bed an attractive appearance and make it comfortable. Some other ways to translate this line are:

She makes quilts for herself (God’s Word)
-or-
She makes her own bedspreads. (New Living Translation (2004))

See 7:16. It has the related verb phrase “decked my bed with coverings.”

31:22b

her clothing is fine linen and purple: This line refers to two kinds of clothing. Both kinds were worn by very wealthy people. The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fine linen refers to the highest quality of linen cloth that was normally imported from Egypt. The word purple refers to woolen cloth that was dyed purple with rare imported dye from Phoenicia.

Some other ways to translate this line are:

• Specify the two kinds of material that were used in her clothing. For example:

She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
She wears a tunic that is made of imported linen and a robe that is made of expensive purple wool.

• Use a more general description. For example:

All her clothes are beautiful and expensive
-or-
She wears expensive clothes that are made from imported cloth.

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 2020

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:15

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:16

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:17

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:18

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:19

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:20

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:21

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 31:22

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