31:1 The words of King Lemuel,an oracle that his mother taught him:2 O my son, O son of my womb,O son of my vows,3 Do not give your strength to women,nor your ways to that which ruins kings.4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,it is not for kings to drink wine,or for rulers to crave strong drink,5 lest they drink and forget what is decreed,and remove from all the poor their legal rights.6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing,and wine to those who are bitterly distressed;7 let them drink and forget their poverty,and remember their misery no more.8 Open your mouth on behalf of those unable to speak,for the legal rights of all the dying.9 Open your mouth, judge in righteousness,and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
10 Who can find a wife of noble character? For her value is far more than rubies.11 The heart of her husband has confidence in her,and he has no lack of gain.12 She brings him good and not evilall the days of her life. 13 She obtains wool and flax,and she is pleased to work with her hands.14 She is like the merchant ships;she brings her food from afar.15 She also gets up while it is still night,and provides food for her household and a portion to her female servants.16 She considers a field and buys it;from her own income she plants a vineyard.17 She begins her work vigorously,and she strengthens her arms.18 She knows that her merchandise is good,and her lamp does not go out in the night.19 Her hands take hold of the distaff,and her hands grasp the spindle.20 She extends her hand to the poor,and reaches out her hand to the needy.21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household,for all of her household are clothed with scarlet.22 She makes for herself coverlets;her clothing is fine linen and purple.23 Her husband is well-known in the city gatewhen he sits with the elders of the land.24 She makes linen garments and sells them,and supplies the merchants with sashes.25 She is clothed with strength and honor,and she can laugh at the time to come.26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,and loving instruction is on her tongue.27 She watches over the ways of her household,and does not eat the bread of idleness.28 Her children rise up and call her blessed,her husband also praises her:29 “Many daughters have done valiantly,but you surpass them all!” 30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting,but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.31 Give her credit for what she has accomplished,and let her works praise her in the city gates. (I find proverbs are always much better if you add a really cute picture right in the middle- oh by the way, Mimi agrees with Lem's mom here, she wants to be a noble wife one day.)
I've isolated vv. 10-31 because this is the passage that gives the most headaches for some. Not for me, though. I'll talk more on this later.
The author of this proverb is King Lemuel. Just like Agur of the previous proverb, who is Lemuel? Lots of scholars say Lemuel is Solomon, which may be true. But the text really doesn't say who he is nor does it indicate elsewhere in the Bible who Lemuel is. It could even have been written by someone unknown and then attributed to "king Lemuel." Just another biblical mystery.
Anyway, Lemuel is a king and this is the advice given to him by his mother, which is also weird/unique to the proverbs.
This proverb seems to be a nice summary of the whole body of proverbs preceding it. In the first little section, Lem's mom talks about the dangers of drunkenness, fast women, and the need for justice- all common themes in Proverbs. (for more themes see below)
The last section is the one that gives people problems. It is an acrostic poem- which means each line of the poem starts with the next Hebrew letter in the alphabet (see picture)."How can the Bible give us such lofty expectations for a wife?" Some opinions of this are that this is an allegory for "wisdom" personified, while other say it is talking about a young boy(????). Didn't we just talk about speculation? I am going to take the stance that King Lemuel's mom is indeed explaining that if there was a person full of wisdom out there, she might look like this, and she would indeed be the ideal wife. Please find below a good summary and conclusion of Proverbs by Sid S. Buzzell in the Bible Knowledge Commentary:
The virtues of a noble wife are those that are extolled throughout the Book of Proverbs: hard work, wise investments, good use of time, planning ahead, care for others, respect for one’s spouse, ability to share godly values with others, wise counsel, and godly fear (worship, trust, service, obedience). As Proverbs has stated repeatedly, these are qualities that lead to honor, praise, success, personal dignity and worth, and enjoyment of life. In the face of the adulteress’ temptations mentioned often in Proverbs, it is fitting that the book concludes by extolling a virtuous wife. Young men and others can learn from this noble woman. By fearing God, they can live wisely and righteously. That is the message of Proverbs.Just for your enjoyment, here is a pretty comprehensive list of subjects also covered in the Proverbs. Today and the rest of the month, extoll every virtue on this list (on the positive side)- Amen.
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