Proverbs 31

Leia este capítulo com intenção

Proverbs 31 closes the book with two voices. First a queen mother instructs her son, King Lemuel, on the discipline a ruler needs: not to waste himself on women or wine, and to speak up for those who have no voice. Then comes the alphabet poem of the woman of noble character, whose husband trusts her, whose hands are never idle, who buys fields and sells linen and opens her arms to the poor, and whose secret is named in the second-to-last verse: she fears the LORD.

Abrir comentário do capítulo

Proverbs 31 is remembered for its last poem, but it begins with a mother teaching a king. Her advice is blunt: do not spend your strength on women, do not drink yourself out of justice, and use the mouth a king has to speak for people who have none. Then the book turns to its finale, an alphabet poem about a woman of noble character. She is easy to admire and easy to misread. She rises before dawn, trades, plants a vineyard, clothes her household against the snow, sells linen to merchants, teaches with wisdom, and is praised by her children and her husband. Some readers hear a standard no one could meet. The poem itself points elsewhere. It opens with "who can find?", the same question the book asked about wisdom, and it ends by naming what lies beneath everything else: "a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs began with the fear of the LORD as the beginning of knowledge, and it ends with the fear of the LORD embodied in a working life. Charm deceives, beauty fades, and the works of a wise person speak for themselves at the gates. That is the book's last word, and it is a picture rather than a maxim.

Passagens-chave

Proverbs 31:1-9 Proverbs 31:10-12 Proverbs 31:20-26 Proverbs 31:30-31 Proverbs 1:7

Historical and literary context

King Lemuel is otherwise unknown, and the chapter is one of the few places in Proverbs where a teacher is explicitly a woman, the king's mother. The closing poem is an acrostic, twenty-two verses following the Hebrew alphabet, which marks it as a carefully composed conclusion rather than a random collection. In Jewish practice it is traditionally sung or recited in the home on Friday evening at the start of the Sabbath. Its portrait of a household economy, with wool and flax, merchant ships, vineyards, and linen for sale, reflects the working life of ancient Israel.

How the chapter unfolds

Verses 1 to 9 are the mother's oracle to Lemuel, moving from warnings about appetite to a positive charge: open your mouth for the voiceless, judge righteously, defend the poor. Verses 10 to 31 are the acrostic poem. It opens with a question, "who can find?", moves through the woman's trustworthiness, her work, her trade, her generosity, her foresight, her wisdom in speech, and her household's praise, and ends with the book's conclusion: charm deceives and beauty fades, but the fear of the LORD is the thing to be praised, and her works praise her at the gates.

Why this chapter matters

Proverbs opened with "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge," and it closes with a woman who fears the LORD, which means the whole book is framed by that phrase, and its final picture of wisdom is not a sage but a working woman. The poem has been read as a portrait of an ideal wife, as a description of Lady Wisdom herself embodied in daily life, and as a model of strength, since "strength and honor are her clothing" and she "can laugh at the days to come." The mother's charge to the king, to speak for the dispossessed, is one of the Old Testament's clearest statements of what power is for.

Interpretive tension to watch

Is the woman of verses 10 to 31 a standard for every wife, a poetic ideal that no one person is meant to match, or wisdom personified as the book has personified her from chapter 1 onward? The answer shapes whether the chapter is read as a burden or as a celebration. The poem's own frame, "who can find?" at the start and the fear of the LORD at the end, points toward wisdom lived out rather than a checklist.

Perguntas para este capítulo

The queen mother tells her son to open his mouth for those with no voice. Who has no voice where you have some?
Why might the book of Proverbs end its search for wisdom with a portrait of ordinary work, trade, and household care rather than with a philosopher?
Verse 30 sets charm and beauty against the fear of the LORD. What does that contrast say about how the whole book has taught the reader to see?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

Adicionar às notas

1 Ord av kung Lemuel, det budskap som hans mor förmanade med: 2 Vad ska jag säga dig, min son, du mitt skötes son, mina löftens son? 3 Ge inte din kraft åt kvinnor, styr inte din färd till dem som är kungars fördärv. 4 Det anstår inte kungar, Lemuel, det anstår inte kungar att dricka vin, inte furstar att söka starka drycker, 5 så att de dricker och glömmer lagen och vränger rätten för alla nödens barn. 6 Ge starka drycker åt den som är döende och vin åt plågade själar. 7 Låt dem dricka och glömma sin fattigdom och sluta tänka på sitt elände. 8 Öppna din mun för den stumme och försvara alla värnlösa. 9 Öppna din mun och döm rättfärdigt, skaffa den svage och fattige rätt. 10 Vem kan finna en driftig hustru? Långt mer än pärlor är hon värd. 11 Hennes mans hjärta litar på henne och han saknar ingenting. 12 Hon gör honom gott, aldrig ont, i alla sina livsdagar. 13 Omsorg har hon om ull och lin, och hennes händer arbetar med lust. 14 Hon är som köpmannens skepp, hon hämtar sin mat fjärran ifrån. 15 När det ännu är natt går hon upp och sätter fram mat åt familjen, portioner åt tjänarinnorna. 16 Hon har planer på en åker och köper den, hon planterar en vingård med vad hennes händer tjänat. 17 Hon fäster ivrigt upp sina kläder och går till verket med starka armar. 18 Hon märker att hennes arbete går bra, hennes lampa släcks inte om natten. 19 Hon sträcker händerna mot spinnrocken, och fingrarna fattar om sländan. 20 För den betryckte öppnar hon sin hand, hon räcker ut sina armar mot den fattige. 21 Hon oroar sig inte för sin familj när vintern kommer, för alla i huset är klädda i scharlakansröd ull. 22 Täcken gör hon åt sig, hon är klädd i finaste linne och purpur. 23 Hennes man är känd i stadens portar där han sitter bland landets äldste. 24 Linneskjortor gör hon och säljer, köpmännen förser hon med bälten. 25 Kraft och värdighet är hennes klädnad, och hon ler mot dagen som kommer. 26 Hon öppnar sin mun med vishet och har vänlig förmaning på sin tunga. 27 Hon vakar över ordningen i sitt hem och äter inte lättjans bröd. 28 Hennes barn står upp och lovordar henne, och hennes man berömmer henne: 29 ”Många kvinnor har gjort storverk, men du överträffar dem alla.” 30 Charm är bedräglig och skönhet förgänglig, men prisas ska den kvinna som vördar Herren. 31 Låt henne få njuta frukten av sitt arbete, och må hennes gärningar prisa henne i portarna.

Transforme leitura em estudo de verdade

Cadastre-se para salvar versículos, fazer anotações e estudar com ferramentas de IA.

Cadastrar Entrar

Escolha seu próximo passo após este capítulo Continue lendo, escolha um plano ou continue estudando com AI.

Ir para o próximo livro Ecclesiastes capítulo 1.

Planos de leitura

Escolha um plano se quiser transformar este capítulo em um hábito repetível.

Pergunte à IA sobre este capítulo

Continue com o estudo de AI se o texto levantar questões ou pressionar mais fundo que uma leitura.

Siga os temas que este capítulo abre Hubs de tópicos relacionados para as questões maiores que este capítulo pode ter aberto.

Navegar por todos os tópicos