Proverbs 31:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.

NIV: She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.

NASB: She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar.

CSB: She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from far away.

NLT: She is like a merchant’s ship, bringing her food from afar.

KJV: She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

NKJV: She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar.

Merchant ships were a major source of interesting and valuable commodities, some from faraway places. The godly, excellent woman (Proverbs 31:10) similarly brings useful, worthwhile, appealing things into the home. Other statements in this passage refer to good business sense (Proverbs 31:16, 18, 24). This verse may connect to her ability to make her household prosperous. In a more practical sense, she is the one who brings things into the home that cannot be made there. A simple modern parallel for this would be something like shopping for groceries or supplies.

Another possible way to interpret this reference is that the excellent wife makes a wide search for what she buys. In other words, she does not settle for what is convenient—she seeks what is best. She may travel far in search of bargains instead of buying what was readily available but at a higher price. Continuing the parallel to grocery shopping, a diligent person might look for bargains, clip coupons, or seek out sales to be as efficient as possible. She may also exert great effort to find things which are "just right" though they are not easy to come by.

Proverbs 31:10–31 is from an unidentified author. This famous passage describes various virtues and attitudes of a godly, excellent woman. Just like the deeply faithful man (Proverbs 20:6), such a woman is uncommon. She stands in vivid contrast to the adulterers and fools often described in Proverbs. Her life is marked by integrity, honor, trust, productivity, common sense, practical love, and hard work. Those strengths last much longer than appearances. The verses of this section form an "acrostic:" each begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

This final chapter fits well with the rest of the book of Proverbs. It reiterates subjects found elsewhere in these lessons. Of note is that the entire chapter is connected to godly women. Topics include the importance of godly parenting, morality, righteous treatment of the needy, justice, and diligence. The first section are the words of King Lemuel's mother. The last is the famous depiction of an "excellent wife," exhibiting ideal traits of diligence, godliness, and competence. That description is arranged as acrostic poem: each verse begins with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Proverbs chapter 31 comes after a long list of Solomon's teachings (Proverbs 25—29) and the words of Agur (Proverbs 30). This final section is connected to two women: the mother of King Lemuel and the ideal of a godly, "excellent" wife. Themes found in this passage are reflected in other lessons from the book of Proverbs. Of note, commendable traits such as business savvy, strength, and wisdom are explicitly associated with women, despite being stereotypically considered masculine. The content after verse 10 is explicitly structured as a poem.

Proverbs is best understood in context with the books of Ecclesiastes and Job. In Proverbs, “wisdom” is given in short, simple, general terms. Ecclesiastes represents wisdom based on observation and experience. This often shows how the general principles of the book of Proverbs don’t apply in absolutely every circumstance. Job represents wisdom based on the experience of suffering and injustice. All three come to the conclusion that God does indeed know best, and the most sensible course of action is to follow His will.