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Proverb A Day, Proverb 31 [Prayer and Meditation]
Bible NKJV | 900 BC | Solomon

Posted on 03/31/2014 9:11:15 AM PDT by OneVike


Proverb 31 (NKJV)

The Words of King Lemuel's Mother

01 The words of King Lemuel,
00 the utterance which his mother taught him:

02 What, my son?
00 And what, son of my womb?
00 And what, son of my vows?
03 Do not give your strength to women,
00 Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.

04 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
00 It is not for kings to drink wine,
00 Nor for princes intoxicating drink;
05 Lest they drink and forget the law,
00 And pervert the justice of all the afflicted.
06 Give strong drink to him who is perishing,
00 And wine to those who are bitter of heart.
07 Let him drink and forget his poverty,
00 And remember his misery no more.

08 Open your mouth for the speechless,
00 In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
09 Open your mouth, judge righteously,
00 And plead the cause of the poor and needy.

The Virtuous Wife

10 Who can find a virtuous wife?
00 For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
00 So he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil
00 All the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
00 And willingly works with her hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
00 She brings her food from afar.
15 She also rises while it is yet night,
00 And provides food for her household,
00 And a portion for her maidservants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
00 She considers a field and buys it;
17 She girds herself with strength,
00 And strengthens her arms.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is good,
00 And her lamp does not go out by night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
00 And her hand holds the spindle.
20 She extends her hand to the poor,
00 Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
00 For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes tapestry for herself;
00 She makes tapestry for herself;
23 Her husband is known in the gates,
00 When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
00 And supplies sashes for the merchants.
25 Strength and honor are her clothing;
00 She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
00 And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She watches over the ways of her household,
00 And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
00 Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many daughters have done well,
00 But you excel them all."
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
00 But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
00 And let her own works praise her in the gates.

The purpose of Writing the book of Proverbs by Solomon is to reveal the mind of God in matters high and lofty and in common, ordinary, everyday situations. It appears that no topic escaped King Solomon's attention. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and Godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings.

Without wisdom, knowledge is nothing more than an accumulation of raw facts, influenced by emotional feelings. Many highly educated people are in positions of power in the United States, but very few of those educated leaders have the wisdom needed to rule properly.

One can say that they have been educated well beyond their intelligence. A cursory look at the court system will prove my point that knowledge without wisdom will only lead to an immoral society that eventually crumbles from within. Judges are supposed to be above the fray, and immovable to emotions. Instead, the vast majority of judges today are Godless individuals who are vacant of wisdom. So their rulings are totally based upon emotional feelings.

We the people are to blame, because we ignored God';s guidance in appointing our leaders. Instead of putting leaders full wisdom in power, we instead chose those who would scratch our itchy ears to lead us.

Along with my daily routine of reading the Bible, I try to read through the book of Proverbs once a Month. It's an easy task when you consider there are 31 Proverbs. So all you need to know is what day of the Month it is to know which Proverb to read. In the Months that have less than 31 days, I just double so I can begin the next month with Proverb 1 on the first again.



TOPICS: Moral Issues; Religion & Culture; Theology; Worship
KEYWORDS: bible; christ; god; proverbs

1 posted on 03/31/2014 9:11:15 AM PDT by OneVike
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To: Kartographer; Jane Long; dragonblustar; goodnesswins; Salvation; Waryone; TNoldman; chicagolady; ...
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2 posted on 03/31/2014 9:11:50 AM PDT by OneVike (I'm just a Christian waiting for a ride home)
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To: OneVike
10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies

Amen!
3 posted on 03/31/2014 9:16:47 AM PDT by Kartographer ("We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.")
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To: OneVike

Beautiful. Thanks and blessings to you.


4 posted on 03/31/2014 10:21:49 AM PDT by Jane Long (While Marxists continue the fundamental transformation of the USA, progressive RINOs assist!)
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To: OneVike; Kartographer; Jane Long; dragonblustar; goodnesswins; Salvation; Waryone; TNoldman; ...
.



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.America's Spiritual Revival and Healing - The Obstacle ... - (click)




IRS & Church Marriage vs. "Render Unto Caesar" ...

IRS & Church Marriage vs. "Render Unto Caesar" - (click)




Who has the courage to watch this message ... Are today's Christians able to hear and recieve a challenging and difficult, albeit "true", look at why Jesus Christ commanded "Render Unto Caesar" message ?


.

5 posted on 03/31/2014 7:18:01 PM PDT by Patton@Bastogne (.)
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To: OneVike

Proverbs, chapter 31

 



View all books of the Bible

CHAPTER 31

1The words of Lemuel, king of Massa,* the instruction his mother taught him:

2What are you doing, my son!*

what are you doing, son of my womb;

what are you doing, son of my vows!

3Do not give your vigor to women,

or your strength* to those who ruin kings.

4It is not for kings, Lemuel,

not for kings to drink wine;

strong drink is not for princes,

5Lest in drinking they forget what has been decreed,

and violate the rights of any who are in need.

6Give strong drink to anyone who is perishing,

and wine to the embittered;

7When they drink, they will forget their misery,

and think no more of their troubles.

8Open your mouth in behalf of the mute,

and for the rights of the destitute;

9Open your mouth, judge justly,

defend the needy and the poor!

IX. POEM ON THE WOMAN OF WORTH*

10Who can find* a woman of worth?a

Far beyond jewels is her value.

11Her husband trusts her judgment;

he does not lack income.

12She brings him profit, not loss,*

all the days of her life.

13She seeks out wool and flax

and weaves with skillful hands.

14Like a merchant fleet,*

she secures her provisions from afar.

15She rises while it is still night,

and distributes food to her household,

a portion to her maidservants.

16She picks out a field and acquires it;

from her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17She girds herself with strength;

she exerts her arms with vigor.*

18She enjoys the profit from her dealings;

her lamp is never extinguished at night.*

19She puts her hands to the distaff,

and her fingers ply the spindle.*

20She reaches out her hands to the poor,

and extends her arms to the needy.

21She is not concerned for her household when it snows—

all her charges are doubly clothed.

22She makes her own coverlets;

fine linen and purple are her clothing.

23Her husband is prominent at the city gates

as he sits with the elders of the land.*

24She makes garments and sells them,

and stocks the merchants with belts.

25She is clothed with strength and dignity,

and laughs at the days to come.*

26She opens her mouth in wisdom;

kindly instruction is on her tongue.

27She watches over* the affairs of her household,

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28Her children rise up and call her blessed;

her husband, too, praises her:

29“Many are the women of proven worth,

but you have excelled them all.”

30Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;

the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.*

31Acclaim her for the work of her hands,

and let her deeds praise her at the city gates.

* [31:19] Though mothers are sources of wisdom in Proverbs (1:8; 6:20), the mother of Lemuel is special in being queen mother, which was an important position in the palace. Queen mothers played an important role in ancient palace life because of their longevity, knowledge of palace politics, and loyalty to their sons; they were in a good position to offer him sound counsel. The language of the poem contains Aramaisms, a sign of its non-Israelite origin.

The first section, vv. 35, warns against abuse of sex and alcohol (wine, strong drink) lest the king forget the poor. The second section, vv. 69, urges the use of alcohol (strong drink, wine) so that the downtrodden poor can forget their poverty. The real subject of the poem is justice for the poor.

* [31:1] Massa: see note on 30:16.

* [31:2] My son: in the Septuagint, “my son, my firstborn.”

* [31:3] The Hebrew word here translated “strength” normally means “ways,” but the context and a cognate language support “authority” or “strength” here.

* [31:1031] An acrostic poem of twenty-two lines; each line begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. As with many other acrostic poems in the Bible, the unity of the poem is largely extrinsic, coming not from the narrative logic but from the familiar sequence of letters. The topic is the ideal woman described through her activity as a wife. Some have suggested that the traditional hymn extolling the great deeds of a warrior has been transposed to extol a heroic wife; the focus is on her exploits. She runs a household distinguished by abundant food and clothing for all within, by its trade (import of raw materials and export of finished products), and by the renown of its head, her husband, in the community. At v. 28, the voice is no longer that of the narrator but of her children and husband as they praise her. The purpose of the poem has been interpreted variously: an encomium to offset the sometimes negative portrayal of women in the book, or, more symbolically (and more likely), a portrait of a household ruled by Woman Wisdom and a disciple of Woman Wisdom, i.e., he now has a worthy wife and children, a great household, renown in the community.

* [31:10] Who can find…?: in 20:6 and Eccl 8:1 the question implies that finding such a person is well-nigh impossible.

* [31:12] Profit, not loss: a commercial metaphor.

* [31:14] Like a merchant fleet: she has her eye on the far horizon, like the ship of a merchant ready to bring supplies into her larder. It is the only simile (“like”) in the poem.

* [31:17] The metaphor of clothing oneself is used to show the woman’s readiness. One can gird on weapons of war and might and splendor (Ps 69:7; Is 52:9).

* [31:18] Her lamp is never extinguished at night: indicates abundance of productive work and its accompanying prosperity; cf. 20:20; Jb 18:6.

* [31:19] The wife weaves linen cloth from flax and wool from fleece, which she cultivated according to v. 13. Distaff: staff for holding the flax, tow, or wool, which in spinning was drawn out and twisted into yarn or thread by the spindle or round stick.

* [31:23] The husband is mentioned for the first time since vv. 1012 but as “her husband.” He will not be mentioned again until v. 28, where he praises her.

* [31:25] Laughs at the days to come: anticipates the future with joy, free of anxiety.

* [31:27] Watches over: Hebrew sòopiyyâ, perhaps a pun on the Greek sophia (= wisdom). Bread of idleness: she does not eat from the table of others but from her own labors.

* [31:30] The true charm of this woman is her religious spirit, for she fears the Lord; cf. note on 1:7.

a. [31:10] Prv 12:4; Sir 26:14, 1318.

 


6 posted on 04/30/2014 12:13:32 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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