The Ideal Wife
Proverbs 31:10–31
Biblical Period
10What a rare find is a capable wife!
Her worth is far beyond that of rubies.
11Her husband puts his confidence in her,
And lacks no good thing.
12She is good to him, never bad,
All the days of her life.
13She looks for wool and flax,
And sets her hand to them with a will.
14She is like a merchant fleet,
Bringing her food from afar.
15She rises while it is still night,
And supplies provisions for her household,
The daily fare of her maids.
16She sets her mind on an estate and acquires it;
She plants a vineyard by her own labors.
17She girds herself with strength,
And performs her tasks with vigor.
18She sees that her business thrives;
Her lamp never goes out at night.
19She sets her hand to the distaff;
Her fingers work the spindle.
20She gives generously to the poor;
Her hands are stretched out to the needy.
21She is not worried for her household because of snow,
For her whole household is dressed in crimson.
22She makes covers for herself;
Her clothing is linen and purple.
23Her husband is prominent in the gates,
As he sits among the elders of the land.
24She makes cloth and sells it,
And offers a girdle to the merchant.
25She is clothed with strength and splendor;
She looks to the future cheerfully.
26Her mouth is full of wisdom,
Her tongue with kindly teaching.
27She oversees the activities of her household
And never eats the bread of idleness.
28Her children declare her happy;
Her husband praises her,
29“Many women have done well,
But you surpass them all.”
30Grace is deceptive,
Beauty is illusory;
It is for her fear of the Lord
That a woman is to be praised.
31Extol her for the fruit of her hand,
And let her works praise her in the gates.
Credits
Reprinted from Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures by permission of the University of Nebraska Press. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 1.
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God’s Gifts
My most pious songs have I written
On rising from my sinful bed.
God has given me a wealth of sins,
And God alone has saved me from my sins.
Translated by David Soeterndorp.
Kav ha-yosher (The Just Measure)
King Solomon, of blessed memory, wrote in Proverbs that one ought not to be too pious and one ought not to do too much evil. [The allusion, however, is to Ecclesiastes 7:16–17.] Accordingly, our sages…