Give her of the fruit of her hands! Let her works praise her in the gates!
Parallel Translations
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Give her of the fruit of her hands! Let her works praise her in the gates!
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Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
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Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her works praise her in the gates.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Proverbs 31:31 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 128:2 For you will eat the labor of your hands. You will be happy, and it will be well with you.
- Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward his name, in that you served the saints, and still do serve them.
- Matthew 7:16 By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?
- Romans 16:1-4 I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is a servant of the assembly that is at Cenchreae, that you receive her in the Lord, in a way worthy of the saints, and that you assist her in whatever matter she may need from you, for she herself also has been a helper of many, and of my own self. Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the assemblies of the Gentiles.
- Revelation 14:13 I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.”
- Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. He who is wise wins souls.
- Proverbs 31:16 She considers a field, and buys it. With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard.
- Philippians 4:17 Not that I seek for the gift, but I seek for the fruit that increases to your account.
- Matthew 7:20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
- Mark 14:7-9 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want to, you can do them good; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for the burying. Most certainly I tell you, wherever this Good News may be preached throughout the whole world, that which this woman has done will also be spoken of for a memorial of her.”
- Acts 9:39 Peter got up and went with them. When he had come, they brought him into the upper room. All the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.
- 1 Timothy 5:25 In the same way also there are good works that are obvious, and those that are otherwise can’t be hidden.
- Romans 16:6 Greet Mary, who labored much for us.
- Romans 16:12 Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Greet Persis, the beloved, who labored much in the Lord.
- Romans 6:21-22 What fruit then did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now, being made free from sin and having become servants of God, you have your fruit of sanctification and the result of eternal life.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Confess her diligent labors, and commend her therefore.
Confess her diligent labors, and commend her therefore.
Forasmuch as the most honorable are clad in the apparel that she made.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 31:31 Give her of the fruit of her…
Pro 31:31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
Ver. 31. Give her of the fruit of her hands.] God would have desert dignified, good parts praised. Here he seals up his approbation and good liking of what her husband and children had said of her in the former verses. He takes it well when we speak good of his people, and holds himself honoured in their just praises. Give her her full due, saith God, both within doors and without. Let her eat of the vineyard that she hath planted, live of the land that she hath purchased, enjoy the fruit of her own labours, have both the comfort and the credit of her worthy parts and practices, she being - as she here stands described - not unlike that precious stone among the Troglodytes which is therefore called hexacontalithos, because within its own little compass it hath the radiant colours of sixty other stones of price. {a}
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{a} Solin., Poly. Hist., cap. 44.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Give her of the fruit of her hands; it…
Give her of the fruit of her hands; it is but just and fit that she should enjoy those benefits and praises which her excellent labours deserve.
Let her own works praise her; give her the praises which her own works may challenge. If men be silent, the lasting effects of her prudence and diligence will loudly trumpet forth her praises.
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In the gates; in the most public and solemn assemblies.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Give her of the fruit of her hands,.... According…
Give her of the fruit of her hands,.... According to Aben Ezra, these are the words of her husband to her children; exhorting them to give her the praise and glory that is due unto her. Jarchi interprets it of the world to come; at which time, it is certain, the graces of the church, and of all believers, which are the fruits of the Spirit in them, and of their hands, as exercised by them, such as faith, hope, love, humility, patience, and others, will be found to honour and praise; and every such person shall have praise of God, Pe1 1:7; and also of men and angels; to whom these words may be an exhortation to give it to them;
and let her own words praise her in the gates; where her husband is known, in public assemblies; before angels and men, in the great day; when her works will follow her, and speak for her, and she will be publicly praised by Christ, as all the faithful and righteous will, Rev 14:13. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "let her husband be praised in the gate"; see Pro 31:23; so Ambrose, who interprets it of the happiness of the saints in heaven.
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Next: Ecclesiastes Introduction
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Give her - It is but just, that she…
Give her - It is but just, that she should enjoy those praises which her labours deserve. Let her works - If men be silent, the lasting effects of her prudence and diligence will trumpet forth her praises. In the gates - In the most publick and solemn assemblies.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 31. Give her of the fruit of her…
Verse 31. Give her of the fruit of her hands] This may be a prayer. May she long enjoy the fruit of her labours! May she see her children's children, and peace upon Israel!
And let her own works praise her in the gates.] Let what she has done be spoken of for a memorial of her; let her bright example be held forth in the most public places. Let it be set before the eyes of every female, particularly of every wife, and especially of every mother; and let them learn from this exemplar, what men have a right to expect in their wives, the mistresses of their families, and the mothers of their children. Amen.
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MASORETIC NOTES ON THIS BOOK
Number of verses in the book of Proverbs, 915.
Middle verse, Pr 16:18.
Sections, 8.
The Syriac reckons 1863 verses.
The Arabic concludes thus: - "The discipline of Solomon written out by the friends of Hezekiah, king of Judah, the interpretation or translation of which is extremely difficult, (but) is now completed by the assistance and influence of the Son of God."
IN the introduction to the book of Proverbs, among the several collections of a similar nature which are mentioned there, I have referred to M. Galand's Maximes des Orientaux. From this work, as contained in the supplement to the Bibliotheque Orientale, I have translated the following selection. They will serve to show the curious reader how many sayings similar to those of Solomon still abound in the East.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Pro 31:31. Give her of the fruit of her…
Pro 31:31. Give her of the fruit of her hands — It is but just that she should enjoy those praises which her labours deserve. Let her works praise her — If men be silent, the lasting effects of her prudence and diligence will trumpet forth her praises. In the gates — In the most public and solemn assemblies.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Gates, before all the judges (Haydock) and people. (Menochius)…
Gates, before all the judges (Haydock) and people. (Menochius) --- Good works shall be rewarded at God’s tribunal, (Worthington) when the vain worldly beauty shall be covered with confusion. (Haydock) --- This idea of a perfect woman is best verified in the Catholic Church, (St. Augustine; Ven. Bede) though the blessed Virgin [Mary], &c., may also be designated. (Worthington) --- The use of the alphabet herein denotes, that we must begin with a moral good life, if we would penetrate the greater mysteries of the Scriptures. (St. Jerome) (Lam.[Lamentations?])
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain The result of her labor is her best eulogy.…
The result of her labor is her best eulogy. Nothing can add to the simple beauty of this admirable portrait. On the measure of its realization in the daughters of our own day rest untold results, in the domestic, and, therefore, the civil and religious, welfare of the people.
Next: Ecclesiastes Introduction
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 31. The fruits of her hands — The product…
31. The fruits of her hands — The product and results of her labours.
And let her own works — Of industry, of thrift, of economy, of kindness, of piety, of wise and careful household management, (the word means all these.)
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Praise her in the gates — Let them be held up for imitation in the public assemblies, and for the incitement of others to like virtues. Here is a specimen of the “strong-minded” woman of the ancient Hebrew race. Let those of her sex who feel within them the stirrings of energy and the aspirations for distinction, take this “looking-glass for ladies,” as the old commentators call it, and dress themselves by it, and they will crown themselves with true womanly dignity and enduring fame.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (31) Give her of the fruit of her hands—i.e.,…
(31) Give her of the fruit of her hands—i.e., honour her for her noble life, “and let her own works praise her in the gates;” let them be recounted when men meet together; the mere mention of them will be sufficient, as no words could add anything to her praise.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain TAV. Give her of the fruit of her hands.…
TAV. Give her of the fruit of her hands. So may she enjoy the various blessings which her zeal, prudence, and economy have obtained. Psa_128:2, "Thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands; happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee." Septuagint, "Give her of the fruit of her lips." And let her own works praise her in the gates. She needs no farfetched laudation; her life long actions speak for themselves. Where men most congregate, where the heads of the people meet in solemn assembly, there her praise is sung, and a unanimous verdict assigns to her the highest honour. Septuagint, "Let her husband be praised in the gates." This frequent introduction of the husband is cuprous. St. Gregory thus spiritualizes the passage: "As the entrance of a city is called the gate, so is the day of judgment the gate of the kingdom, since all the elect go in thereby to the glory of their heavenly country....Of these gates Solomon says, "Give her of the fruit of her hands, and her own works shall praise her in the gates." For holy Church then receives of "the fruit of her hands," when the recompensing of her labour raises her up to the possession of heavenly blessings; for her "works then praise her in the gates," when in the very entrance to his kingdom the words are spoken to his members, "I was a hungred, and ye gave me meat," etc." ("Moral.," 6:9).
Woman"s rights.
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The strenuous advocacy of the rights of women by shrill oratory has injured the true cause of women by covering a serious subject with ridicule, and suggesting the unreality of the grievances urged. When extravagant demands are made, people assume that every just right has been conceded; and when the self-elected advocates of women put forth a programme which the great body of wives and daughters repudiate, it is supposed that there is no ground for considering any complaint as to the legal and social treatment of women. But this is unreasonable and unjust. There are women"s rights, and these fights are by no means universally conceded.
I WOMEN HAVE A RIGHT TO WORK. The Oriental notion, that women are but idle ornaments of the harem, finds no place in the Bible. Here they appear freely in the world, and, though their first duties are in the home, they are not idle, nor are they wanting in enterprise. The ideal woman in the Book of Proverbs is a manufacturer, a merchant, and a landowner. Woman"s work cannot be wholly the same as man"s, because nature has placed limitations upon her physical energies. But she has spheres for work, and it is cruel, unjust, and selfish to keep her out of any region of activity where she can do good service, by law or by social displeasure. Two wrongs in particular need to be swept away.
1. The motion that work is degrading to a woman. Surely idleness is more degrading. It is rightly said that woman"s sphere is the home. But it is not every woman who has a home. Surely it is a degrading and insulting idea that the main business of a young woman is to secure a husband, and so obtain a home. There are women who are manifestly cut out for other positions; many women never have an opportunity of obtaining a home of their own except by sacrificing themselves to men whom they do not love. In early life young girls are not the better for being kept in idleness, waiting for the chance that may turn up. Half the ailments of women of the comfortable classes come from want of occupation. It needs to be known and recognized that it is a right and honourable thing for a woman to be engaged in any ordinary occupation that is suitable to her powers.
2. The fear of rivalry with men. There have been professions the members of which have bitterly resented the invasion of their ranks by women. Such trade unionism is most ungenerous. It is a humiliation to have to confess that men could not hold their own unless under a system of protection against the competition of women. Certainly no Christian principle can justify such selfishness.
II WOMEN HAVE A RIGHT TO THE RESULTS OF THEIR WORK.
1. In payment. The wife who earns wages has a right to her purse as much as the husband to his. Where there is a true marriage, no thought of separate interests will rouse any jealousy as to the several possessions of the two. But true marriage is not always realized. We see brutal husbands living idly on the earnings of their wives. It is not enough that the poor women are supposed to be protected by a Married Woman"s Property Act, for the husband is still too often the tyrant of the home. We shall only see a more just arrangement when Christian principles are applied to domestic practices.
2. In honour. "Let her own works praise her in the gates." Women who contribute to the service of society are deserving of double honour, because they have had to work under exceptional disadvantages. Women who have proved themselves wise, industrious, and generous in the home life do not receive their meed of praise. Too much is taken for granted, and accepted without thanks, because the service is constant and the sacrifice habitual. In after years, when it is too late to give the due acknowledgment, many a man has had to feet sharp pangs of regret at his heedless treatment of a wife"s patient toil or a mother"s yearning love.
3. In position. Opportunity should be proportionate to capacity. If women can work, they should have scope for work. It is the duty of Christian society to give to woman her true position. If she be "the weaker vessel," she needs more consideration, not less justice. Christ gave high honours to women, accepted their devoted service, and laid the foundation of Christian justice in regard to them.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.