Proverbs 31

General context

The chapter opens with a heading: "The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him." She begins with three questions, "What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?", and tells him not to give his strength to women nor his ways to what destroys kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink, lest they forget the law and pervert the judgment of the afflicted. Strong drink is for him that is ready to perish. She tells him to open his mouth for the dumb, to judge righteously and to plead the cause of the poor and needy. Verse 10 asks, "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." Her husband's heart safely trusts in her; she does him good all her days. She seeks wool and flax and works willingly with her hands; she rises while it is still night to feed her household and her maidens. She considers a field and buys it, and plants a vineyard. Her candle does not go out by night; she stretches out her hand to the poor and needy; her husband is known in the gates among the elders. Strength and honour are her clothing; she opens her mouth with wisdom and the law of kindness is in her tongue; she does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children call her blessed and her husband praises her: many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful and beauty vain, but a woman that fears the Lord shall be praised. The book ends: give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Cited passages: Proverbs 31:1, Proverbs 31:2, Proverbs 31:3, Proverbs 31:4, Proverbs 31:5, Proverbs 31:6, Proverbs 31:7, Proverbs 31:8, Proverbs 31:9, Proverbs 31:10, Proverbs 31:11, Proverbs 31:12, Proverbs 31:13, Proverbs 31:14, Proverbs 31:15, Proverbs 31:16, Proverbs 31:17, Proverbs 31:18, Proverbs 31:19, Proverbs 31:20, Proverbs 31:21, Proverbs 31:22, Proverbs 31:23, Proverbs 31:24, Proverbs 31:25, Proverbs 31:26, Proverbs 31:27, Proverbs 31:28, Proverbs 31:29, Proverbs 31:30, Proverbs 31:31

Proverbs 31 (KJV)

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Historical context

The heading names Lemuel as a king and says the words are "the prophecy that his mother taught him"; his mother is not named, no kingdom or place is given, and Lemuel appears nowhere else in the book. She addresses him as "my son" and "O Lemuel", and her words concern kings: women, wine, strong drink, the law, and the judgment of the afflicted. The text does not mark where her teaching ends. Verse 10 begins a new subject, the virtuous woman, and the chapter does not say whether these verses are still the mother's words or a separate poem. The phrase "a virtuous woman" appeared once before, at 12:4. The woman of verses 10 to 31 is unnamed and is described by her works, her household, her husband and her children; the text does not say she is a particular person. Her husband sits "among the elders of the land" in "the gates", and the land is not named. The Lord is named once, in verse 30. Verses 6 and 7, which give strong drink to the perishing and wine to heavy hearts, are the mother's instruction and stand beside her ban on wine for kings; the text presents both without reconciling them. "Rubies" as the measure of her price repeats the valuation of wisdom in 3:15 and 8:11.

Cited passages: Proverbs 31:1, Proverbs 31:2, Proverbs 31:4, Proverbs 31:5, Proverbs 31:10, Proverbs 12:4, Proverbs 31:23, Proverbs 31:30, Proverbs 31:6, Proverbs 3:15, Proverbs 8:11

Literary context

The mother's speech (verses 1 to 9) is built on a triple question, "What, my son?", followed by prohibitions with reasons, "It is not for kings ... Lest they drink", then a reversal that gives strong drink to the perishing instead, and two commands that begin "Open thy mouth". The second part (verses 10 to 31) is twenty-two verses, each a complete statement about one woman, opening with a question about her price and closing with a command to give her the fruit of her hands. Her hands recur through it, in verses 13, 16, 19, 20 and 31, and her household in verses 15, 21 and 27. The gates frame her husband's standing (verse 23) and her own praise (verse 31), and they are the place where Wisdom cried in 1:21 and 8:3. The poem moves from what she does to what is said of her: her children and husband speak in verse 28, and verse 29 turns to address her directly, "thou excellest them all", the only second-person line in the poem. Verse 30 sets favour and beauty against the fear of the Lord, the phrase with which the book began. The mother told the king to plead the cause of the poor and needy; the woman stretches out her hand to the poor and needy in verse 20, so the two halves of the chapter meet on that line.

Cited passages: Proverbs 31:2, Proverbs 31:4, Proverbs 31:5, Proverbs 31:6, Proverbs 31:8, Proverbs 31:9, Proverbs 31:10, Proverbs 31:31, Proverbs 31:13, Proverbs 31:19, Proverbs 31:27, Proverbs 31:23, Proverbs 1:21, Proverbs 8:3, Proverbs 31:28, Proverbs 31:29, Proverbs 31:30, Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 31:20

Key moments

1. The words of king Lemuel (Proverbs 31:1). A heading introduces the words king Lemuel's mother taught him.
2. Not for kings to drink wine (Proverbs 31:4). Lemuel is told that wine and strong drink are not for kings and princes.
3. Open thy mouth for the dumb (Proverbs 31:8). The king is told to speak for the dumb and those appointed to destruction.
4. Who can find a virtuous woman? (Proverbs 31:10). The poem opens by asking who can find a virtuous woman, priced above rubies.
5. She considereth a field (Proverbs 31:16). She considers a field, buys it and plants a vineyard with her earnings.
6. Her hand to the poor (Proverbs 31:20). She stretches out her hand to the poor and reaches to the needy.
7. A woman that feareth the Lord (Proverbs 31:30). Favour and beauty are set aside; the woman who fears the Lord is praised.

For reflection

The mother tells the king to open his mouth for the dumb and plead the cause of the poor and needy, and the virtuous woman stretches out her hand to the poor and needy. Why might a book of instruction to a son end with a woman's own works praising her in the gates?

People in this chapter

Also indexed here:

• Lemuel