Font Size
Proverbs 31:9-11
New Catholic Bible
Proverbs 31:9-11
New Catholic Bible
9 Speak out and pronounce righteous judgments;
defend the rights of the wretched and the poor.
In Praise of the Valiant Woman or the Perfect Homemaker[a]
10 Who can find a worthy wife?
She is far more precious than pearls.
11 Her husband entrusts his heart to her,
for in her he has an unfailing blessing.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 31:10 The entire family gathers together to heap praise on the mistress of the home. The husband, a considerate man, devotes himself to his public life. Without fear he can leave to his wife the care of directing the household, providing for domesticity, taking care of the marketing, the fields, and the vine. This golden woman joins to her practical qualities and her sense of work a discreet and communicative piety, the gift of education, the efficacious foresight for all, and attentiveness to the poor. These are natural (but nonetheless attractive) qualities for her. She deserves to be celebrated.
This short poem is better known under the title “Praise of a Strong Woman.” Each verse has two parallel members and begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet; there are as many verses as there are letters in that alphabet. The passage has therefore been carefully and artfully composed; there is nothing improvised about it. But in the person of the virtuous woman it is ultimately Wisdom herself that is extolled. Wisdom, a profound force in a people, was presented to us at the beginning of the Book as a person who actively intervenes in the human world; the end of the Book harks back to the beginning. The picture drawn is meant to leave us with an attractive ideal of life.
