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Texts -- Proverbs 31:1-31 (NET)

Context
The Words of Lemuel
31:1 The words of King Lemuel , an oracle that his mother taught him: 31:2 O my son , O son of my womb , O son of my vows , 31:3 Do not give your strength to women , nor your ways to that which ruins kings . 31:4 It is not for kings , O Lemuel , it is not for kings to drink wine , or for rulers to crave strong drink , 31:5 lest they drink and forget what is decreed , and remove from all the poor their legal rights . 31:6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing , and wine to those who are bitterly distressed ; 31:7 let them drink and forget their poverty , and remember their misery no more . 31:8 Open your mouth on behalf of those unable to speak , for the legal rights of all the dying . 31:9 Open your mouth , judge in righteousness , and plead the cause of the poor and needy .
The Wife of Noble Character
31:10 Who can find a wife of noble character ? For her value is far more than rubies . 31:11 The heart of her husband has confidence in her, and he has no lack of gain . 31:12 She brings him good and not evil all the days of her life . 31:13 She obtains wool and flax , and she is pleased to work with her hands . 31:14 She is like the merchant ships ; she brings her food from afar . 31:15 She also gets up while it is still night , and provides food for her household and a portion to her female servants . 31:16 She considers a field and buys it; from her own income she plants a vineyard . 31:17 She begins her work vigorously , and she strengthens her arms . 31:18 She knows that her merchandise is good , and her lamp does not go out in the night . 31:19 Her hands take hold of the distaff , and her hands grasp the spindle . 31:20 She extends her hand to the poor , and reaches out her hand to the needy . 31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household , for all of her household are clothed with scarlet . 31:22 She makes for herself coverlets ; her clothing is fine linen and purple . 31:23 Her husband is well-known in the city gate when he sits with the elders of the land . 31:24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes . 31:25 She is clothed with strength and honor , and she can laugh at the time to come . 31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom , and loving instruction is on her tongue . 31:27 She watches over the ways of her household , and does not eat the bread of idleness . 31:28 Her children rise up and call her blessed , her husband also praises her: 31:29 “Many daughters have done valiantly , but you surpass them all !” 31:30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting , but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised . 31:31 Give her credit for what she has accomplished , and let her works praise her in the city gates .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Wife

    [ebd] The ordinance of marriage was sanctioned in Paradise (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4-6). Monogamy was the original law under which man lived, but polygamy early commenced (Gen. 4:19), and continued to prevail all down through Jewish ...
    [nave] WIFE Called Desire of the Eyes, Ezek. 24:16. Help, Gen. 2:18, 20. Fruitful Vine, Psa. 128:3. The judgment denounced against Eve, Gen. 3:16. Relation of, to husband, Gen. 2:18, 23, 24; 1 Cor. 11:3-12. Domestic duties of,...

  • MARRIAGE

    [isbe] MARRIAGE - mar'-ij: Introduction Scope and Viewpoint of the Present Article 1. Marriage among the Hebrews 2. Betrothal the First Formal Part 3. Wedding Ceremonies 4. Jesus' Sanction of the Institution 5. His Teaching concern...
    [smith] Its origin and history . --The institution of marriage dates from the time of man?s original creation. (Genesis 2:18-25) From (Genesis 2:24) we may evolve the following principles: (1) The unity of man and wife, as implied i...

  • WOMAN

    [ebd] was "taken out of man" (Gen. 2:23), and therefore the man has the preeminence. "The head of the woman is the man;" but yet honour is to be shown to the wife, "as unto the weaker vessel" (1 Cor. 11:3, 8, 9; 1 Pet. 3:7). Sever...
    [isbe] WOMAN - woom'-an ('ishshah, "a woman" (feminine of 'ish, "a man"]; gune, "a woman" "wife"): I. IN THE CREATIVE PLAN II. IN OLD TESTAMENT TIMES 1. Prominence of Women 2. Social Equality 3. Marriage Laws 4. Inheritance 5. Dome...

  • MASSA

    [isbe] MASSA - mas'-a (massa', "burden"): Descendant of Abraham through Ishmael (Gen 25:14; 1 Ch 1:30). His people may be the Masani of Ptolemy, having Eastern Arabia near Babylon as their habitat. The marginal reading of the headi...

  • BATH-SHEBA

    [isbe] BATH-SHEBA - bath-she'-ba, bath'-she-ba (bath-shebha`, "the seventh daughter," or "the daughter of an oath," also called Bathshua bath-shua`, "the daughter of opulence" (1 Ch 3:5); the Septuagint however reads Bersabee every...

  • Lemuel

    [ebd] dedicated to God, a king whom his mother instructed (Prov. 31:1-9). Nothing is certainly known concerning him. The rabbis identified him with Solomon.
    [isbe] LEMUEL - lem'-u-el (lemu'el, or lemo'-el): A king whose words, an "oracle (taught him by his mother)," are given in Prov 31:1-9; and possibly the succeeding acrostic poem (31:10-31) is from the same source. Instead of transl...
    [smith] (dedicated to God), the name of an unknown king to whom his mother addressed the prudential maxims contained in (Proverbs 31:1-9) The rabbinical commentators identified Lemuel with Solomon. Others regard him as king or chief ...
    [nave] LEMUEL A king. Probably refers to Solomon, Prov. 31:1, 4.

  • Women

    [smith] The position of women in the Hebrew commonwealth contrasts favorably with that which in the present day is assigned to them generally in eastern countries. The most salient point of contrast in the usages of ancient as compar...
    [nave] WOMEN Creation of, Gen. 1:27; 2:21, 22. Named, Gen. 2:23. Fall of, and curse upon, Gen. 3:1-16; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14. Promise to, Gen. 3:15. Had separate apartments in dwellings, Gen. 24:67; 31:33; Esth. 2:9, 11. Ve...

  • ACROSTIC

    [isbe] ACROSTIC - a-kros'-tik: The acrostic, understood as a short poem in which the first letters of the lines form a word, or name, or sentence, has not yet been proved to occur in ancient Hebrew literature. The supposed examples...

  • Economics

    [nave] ECONOMICS. Political, Gen. 41:33-57. Household, Prov. 24:27; 31:10-31; Eccl. 11:4-6; John 6:12, 13. See: Family; Frugality; Industry.

  • WRITING

    [smith] There is no account in the Bible of the origin of writing. That the Egyptians in the time of Joseph were acquainted with writing of a certain kind there is evidence to prove, but there is nothing to show that up to this perio...

  • ALPHABET

    [isbe] ALPHABET - al'-fa-bet. 1. Definition: An alphabet is a list of the elementary sounds used in any language. More strictly speaking it is that particular series, commonly known as the Phoenician or Canaanite alphabet, which wa...

  • Poetry

    [ebd] has been well defined as "the measured language of emotion." Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man's relation to God. "Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon, redemption, repentance are the a...

  • Pods

    [nave] PODS See: Husk. Acrostic Psa. 25; 34; 37; 111; 112; 119; 145; Prov. 31:10-31;

  • TRADE

    [isbe] TRADE - trad: I. GENERAL 1. Terms 2. Position of Palestine 3. Trade Products of Palestine 4. Palestinian Traders II. HISTORY 1. To David 2. Solomon 3. Maritime Trade 4. To the Exile 5. The Exile and After LITERATURE I. Gener...

  • Industry

    [nave] INDUSTRY. Gen. 2:15; Ex. 23:12 Deut. 5:13. Ex. 35:2; Prov. 10:4, 5; Prov. 12:11, 24, 27; Prov. 13:4, 11, 23; Prov. 14:4, 23; Prov. 16:26; Prov. 20:13; Prov. 21:5; Prov. 22:29; Prov. 27:23 vs. 23-27.; Prov. 28:19; Prov. 30:2...

  • Wine

    [ebd] The common Hebrew word for wine is yayin, from a root meaning "to boil up," "to be in a ferment." Others derive it from a root meaning "to tread out," and hence the juice of the grape trodden out. The Greek word for wine is ...
    [smith] The manufacture of wine is carried back in the Bible to the age of Noah, (Genesis 9:20,21) to whom the discovery of the process is apparently, though not explicitly, attributed. The natural history and culture of the vine are...
    [nave] WINE Made from grapes, Gen. 40:11; 49:11; Isa. 25:6; Jer. 40:10, 12; from pomegranates, Song 8:2. Kept in jars, Jer. 13:12; 48:12; in skins, Josh. 9:4, 13; Job 32:19; Matt. 9:17; Luke 5:37, 38; in bottles, Josh. 9:4, 13; Jo...

  • LINEN

    [ebd] (1.) Heb., pishet, pishtah, denotes "flax," of which linen is made (Isa. 19:9); wrought flax, i.e., "linen cloth", Lev. 13:47, 48, 52, 59; Deut. 22:11. Flax was early cultivated in Egypt (Ex. 9:31), and also in Palestine (Jo...
    [isbe] LINEN - lin'-en (badh, "white linen," used chiefly for priestly robes, buts, "byssus," a fine white Egyptian linen, called in the earlier writings shesh; pesheth, "flax," cadhin; bussos, othonion, linon, sindon): Thread or c...

  • Drunkeess

    [nave] DRUNKEESS See: TemperanceDeut. 21:20, 21; Deut. 29:19-21; 1 Sam. 1:14; Psa. 69:12; Prov. 20:1; Prov. 21:17; Prov. 23:20, 21, 29-35; Prov. 31:4-7; Isa. 5:11, 12, 22; Isa. 19:14; Isa. 24:9, 11; Isa. 28:1, 3, 7, 8; Isa. 56:12; ...

  • DRESS

    [ebd] (1.) Materials used. The earliest and simplest an apron of fig-leaves sewed together (Gen. 3:7); then skins of animals (3:21). Elijah's dress was probably the skin of a sheep (2 Kings 1:8). The Hebrews were early acquainted ...
    [isbe] DRESS - In the Hebrew and Greek there is a wonderful wealth of terminology having to do with the general subject of dress among the ancient Orientals. This is reflected in the numerous synonyms for "dress" to be found in Eng...
    [smith] This subject includes the following particulars: Materials; Color and decoration; Name, form, and mode of wearing the various articles; Special usages relating thereto. Materials .--After the first "apron" of fig leaves, (Ge...

  • Rulers

    [nave] RULERS Appointed and removed by God. See: Government, God in. Chastised, Dan. 4. See: Nation. Monarchical, See: Kings. Patriarchal, Gen. 27:29, 37. Instances of Nimrod, Gen. 10:8-10. Abraham, Gen. 14:13-24; 17:6; 21:2...
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Arts

Hymns

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  • [Pro 31:28] Remember Your Mother’s Prayer
  • [Pro 31:30] The Praises Of That Saint We Sing

Questions

Sermon Illustrations

The Importance of Marriage; Proverbs 31:30

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • After receiving the reminder of his death and as one of his final official acts as Israel's leader, Moses pronounced a prophetic blessing on the tribes of Israel (cf. Gen. 49)."In the ancient Near East, a dying father's final...
  • Ruth carried out Naomi's instructions exactly, further demonstrating her loyal love to her mother-in-law, and encouraged Boaz to pursue the possibility of marriage (vv. 6-9)."Note that the threshingfloor was a public place an...
  • The title of this book in the Hebrew Bible is "The Proverbs of Solomon, the Son of David, King in Israel"(cf. 1:1). The Greek Septuagint called this book "Proverbs of Solomon."The Latin Vulgate named it "The Book of Proverbs....
  • Proverbs claims to be a compendium of the wise sayings of several different individuals.4Solomon originated some of them (10:1-22:16 and chs. 25-29 definitely, and probably chs. 1-9 as well).5Unnamed wise men (sages) wrote ot...
  • The Book of Proverbs contains no history. It is purely didactic. It is a book of explicit instruction. Like the other Old Testament wisdom books, Job and Ecclesiastes, it does not contain references to Israel's laws, rituals,...
  • I. Discourses on wisdom chs. 1-9A. Introduction to the book 1:1-71. The title of the book 1:12. The purpose of the book 1:2-63. The thesis of the book 1:7B. Instruction for young people 1:8-7:271. Warning against consorting w...
  • Verse one introduces both the book as a whole and chapters 1-9 in particular. The Book of Proverbs is a collection of at least five separate groups of proverbs. There are those that Solomon spoke and or wrote (possibly chs. 1...
  • This verse enjoys almost universal recognition as the key statement not only in Proverbs but in all the wisdom literature of the Bible (cf. 9:10; 15:33; Job 28:28; Ps. 111:10; Eccles. 12:13). Some people think of it as the mo...
  • The two ways (paths) introduced in 1:7 stretch out before the reader (cf. Matt. 7:13-14). In this section Solomon spoke to his son guiding him into God's way. "My son"was and is a customary way of addressing a disciple."It de...
  • 18:1 Evidently the intent is, "He who separates himself [from other people]"does so because he wants his own way and does not want others to restrain him. Such an approach runs counter to sound wisdom because we all need inpu...
  • Chapters 30 and 31 form a distinct section in Proverbs because neither Solomon (1:1-22:16; chs. 25-29) nor the unnamed sages (22:17-24:34) wrote them. Two other wise men whose names the text records did. Some expositors specu...
  • Some commentators have regarded only the first nine verses of this chapter as Lemuel's writing. One reason for this is that the Septuagint translators separated verses 1-9 from verse 10-31 by five chapters (chs. 25-29). Howev...
  • King Lemuel was evidently not a king of Israel or Judah. No king by this name appears in Kings or Chronicles. Some scholars have suggested that "Lemuel"(lit. "Devoted to God") may have been a pen name for Solomon. There is no...
  • 31:2 The unusual address, "What, O my son?"is "affectionately reproachful."210She was getting his attention and appealed to him strongly to give heed to her words for two reasons. She had borne him, and he had some connection...
  • We have read much in Proverbs already about unwise women. Solomon personified both wisdom and folly as women (chs. 8-9). Perhaps God wanted us to finish reading this book assured that women are not essentially evil or foolish...
  • The quality of wisdom that Proverbs presents is much more than the ability to apply knowledge to various situations in life effectively. It also involves submission to the way of God that is the order of life God has revealed...
  • Aitken, Kenneth T. Proverbs. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1986.Alden, Robert L. Proverbs: A Commentary on an Ancient Book of Timeless Advice. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984.Archer, Gleason L., Jr. Encyclopedia of Bi...
  • This section consists of four parts: a summary of Jeremiah's Temple Sermon (vv. 2-6), the prophet's arrest and trial (vv. 7-16), the elders' plea for his life (vv. 17-19, 24), and the incident involving Uriah and his executio...
  • 1:2-3 Joel called on everyone, from the most respected ruling elders of the land (cf. 1 Sam. 30:26-31; 2 Sam. 19:11-15; 2 Kings 23:1; Ezra 10:8; Prov. 31:23; Jer. 26:17; Lam. 5:12, 14) to the ordinary inhabitants, to pay atte...
  • What follows are the words (i.e., collected messages, cf. Prov. 30:1; 31:1; Eccles. 1:1; Jer. 1:1) of Amos (lit. Burden), who was one of the sheepherders who lived in the Judean town of Tekoa, 10 miles south of Jerusalem. Thi...
  • The disciples of John were not the only men who began following Jesus. Andrew continued to bring other friends to Jesus. This incident preceded Jesus' formal appointment of the Twelve, but it shows Him preparing those who wou...
  • Paul listed seven responsibilities of these women. They were (1) to be lovers of their husbands (to put their welfare before self-interests), (2) to be lovers of their children, and (3) to be sensible (Gr. sophronas; self-con...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 11. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12. She will do him good, and not evil, all the days of her life...
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