Proverbs 31:12
in Proverbs 31She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
She doeth him good and not evil All the days of her life.
KJV
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
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This verse in Proverbs 31
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Who can find a virtuous woman
on Proverbs 31:10-13
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies opens the poem the mother has been building toward, and the Hebrew text is an alphabet acrostic, twenty two verses for the twenty two letters, a structural fact the bench states rather than a coincidence of style. Her husband's heart safely trusts her, and she does him good and not evil all the days of her life, the poem's frame before a single deed is listed. The first labor named is textile work, seeking wool and flax and working willingly with her hands, willingly repeating the same idea the poem returns to, a heart that works rather than merely obeys.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
For she works good and not evil for her husband, at all times. Hence it is that this woman plunders nations, by working good and not evil for her husband. At all times she works good and not evil. Not for herself, but for her husband, so that he who lives, may no longer live for himself, but for him who died and rose again for all. Therefore, she works good for her husband, she works good before God. She serves him, she is devoted to him, she loves him, she always strives to please him. She does not adorn herself, neither for her own eyes, nor for the eyes of others. She is not one of those who please themselves, she is not one of those who seek their own: For she works for her husband. But those who work for themselves, all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"She brings him good, and not harm," etc. For the soul renders good to Christ when, receiving the gifts of life from Him, it responds by living rightly, when it strives to impart to others that which through His help it can know or do. …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. 4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: 5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. 6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
She will do him good, and not evil,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
do . . . good--contribute good to him. Ancient women of rank thus wrought with their hands; and such, indeed, were the customs of Western women a few centuries since.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
In Hebrew the verses begin with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order (compare Introduction to Poetical Books). Who . . . woman--The question implies that such are rare, though not entirely wanting (compare Pr 18:22; 19:14). virtuous--literally, "of strength," that is, moral courage (compare Pr 12:4;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
She will do him good - 4. She has her husband’s happiness in view constantly. She recompenses all his kindness to her in beneficent acts. For kind words she returns kind deeds. 1. Her good is unmixed; she will do him good. and not evil. 2 Her good is not capricious; it is constant and permanent, while she and her husband live. His heart safely trusts in her, for she will do him good all the days of her life. This is her general character.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and he will lack no gain lit. no plunder, i.e., he will lack no good.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גְּמָלַ֣תְהוּ | gemalathu | she feeds him | H1580 → | 37 times |
| ט֣וֹב | tov | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| רָ֑ע | ra' | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| כֹּ֝֗ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יְמֵ֣י | yemei | [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| חַיֶּֽיה׃ | chaiyeih | life her | H2416 → | 498 times |
גְּמָלַ֣תְהוּshe feeds him
gemalathuH1580 →37 times
ט֣וֹבgood
tovH2896 →538 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
רָ֑עevil
ra'H7451 →662 times
כֹּ֝֗לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
יְמֵ֣י[the] days of
yemeiH3117 →2304 times
חַיֶּֽיה׃life her
chaiyeihH2416 →498 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 37:4-5; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.