Proverbs 31:14
in Proverbs 31She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
She is like the merchant-ships; She bringeth her bread from afar.
KJV
She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
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This verse in Proverbs 31
Commentary
6 notes on this verseShe is like the merchants’ ships - 3. She acts like merchants. If she buy any thing for her household, she sells sufficient of her own manufactures to pay for it; if she imports, she exports: and she sends articles of her own manufacturing or produce to distant countries; she traffics with the neighboring tribes.
This site's exposition
She is like the merchants’ ships
on Proverbs 31:14-19
She is like the merchants' ships, she bringeth her food from afar states the portrait's scope directly: this is trade reaching beyond the household, not domestic labor kept inside it. She rises while it is yet night to provide for her household and her maidens, considers a field and buys it, and plants a vineyard with the fruit of her own hands, three decisions of ownership and investment the text credits to her judgment alone. Strength girded to her loins and arms and a candle that does not go out by night complete the picture of a woman working past the hours anyone would require of her, spinning at the spindle and distaff before the poem turns outward again.
The record, by era
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 is like the merchant ships,....
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
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The comparison points to the enlarged commerce of the Israelites consequent on their contact with the Phoenicians under David and Solomon; compare Pro 31:24.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
[14] She is like the merchant ships The Torah brings those who study it blessing and sustenance.
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
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הָ֭יְתָה | hayetah | she is | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כָּאֳנִיּ֣וֹת | kooniyot | like [the] ships of | H591 → | |
| סוֹחֵ֑ר | socher | a trader | H5503 → | |
| מִ֝מֶּרְחָ֗ק | mimerchak | from a distance | H4801 → | |
| תָּבִ֥יא | tavi' | she brings | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לַחְמָֽהּ׃ | lachmah | food her | H3899 → | 298 times |
הָ֭יְתָהshe is
hayetahH1961 →3559 times
כָּאֳנִיּ֣וֹתlike [the] ships of
kooniyotH591 →
סוֹחֵ֑רa trader
socherH5503 →
מִ֝מֶּרְחָ֗קfrom a distance
mimerchakH4801 →
תָּבִ֥יאshe brings
tavi'H935 →2568 times
לַחְמָֽהּ׃food her
lachmahH3899 →298 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Chronicles 9:10(The servants of Hiram and of Solomon who brought gold from Ophir also brought algum wood and precious stones.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 8:18
So Hiram sent him ships captained by his servants, along with crews of experienced sailors. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir and acquired from there 450 talents of gold, which they delivered to…
- 1 Kings 10:11
(The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir a great cargo of almug wood and precious stones.
- 1 Kings 9:27–28
And Hiram sent his servants, men who knew the sea, to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s servants.
- 2 Chronicles 8:18
Through
Proverbs 31:24She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchants.
it leads to
- Luke 16:19
Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.
- Ezekiel 27:16
Aram was your customer because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your wares.
- Judges 14:12
“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can solve it for me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets…
- Proverbs 31:13
She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
- 1 Kings 10:28
Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.
- Luke 16:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.