The Meaning of Proverbs 31:18 Explained

Proverbs 31:18

KJV: She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

YLT: She hath perceived when her merchandise is good, Her lamp is not extinguished in the night.

Darby: She perceiveth that her earning is good; her lamp goeth not out by night.

ASV: She perceiveth that her merchandise is profitable: Her lamp goeth not out by night.

Discover Proverbs 31:18

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Proverbs 31:18?

MEANING: What does Proverbs 31:18 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Proverbs 31:18 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Proverbs 31:18?

What is the context of Proverbs 31:18?

The Woman Who Fears the Lord (Proverbs 31:10-31)
Description of a Worthy Woman (Proverbs 31:10-31)
In Praise of a Capable Wife (Proverbs 31:10-31)
A Wife of Noble Character (Proverbs 31:10-31)
Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character (Proverbs 31:10-31)
An Excellent Woman .[ f .] (Proverbs 31:10-31)
The Virtuous Wife (Proverbs 31:10-31)
The Honorable Woman (Proverbs 31:10-31)

KJV Reverse Interlinear

She perceiveth that her merchandise [is] good: her candle goeth not out by night.

What does Proverbs 31:18 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 31:10-31 - "her Works Praise Her"

The ideal woman, as portrayed here, is a wife. She is the stay and confidence of her husband. Not only when she comes as a young bride into his home, in the glory and beauty of her youth, nor only when her womanly beauty holds his admiration, but long after and to the end of life she does him good. She is always busy. She is thrifty in administering his earnings. If he brings the money to her, she expends it economically for their common weal. When a friend of mine was sixty, his wife came to him with an annuity which she had purchased for them both, by her wise administration of the money entrusted to her through forty years of married life.

It is in the home-place that the man's strength is gathered for public life. The woman in the home communicates the inspiration and strength which make him "known in the gates." Her secret, unobtrusive loyalty, counsel, and thrift inspire a growing depth of appreciation; so that the man who chose her in the spring will say of her amid the snows of age, "Other women may be good and true, but "˜thou excellest them all.'" [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 31

¹ Lemuel's lesson of chastity and temperance
⁶ The afflicted are to be comforted and defended
¹⁰ The praise and properties of a good wife

What do the individual words in Proverbs 31:18 mean?

She perceives that good her merchandise [is] not and does go out - by night her lamp

טָ֭עֲמָה כִּי־ ט֣וֹב סַחְרָ֑הּ לֹֽא־ יִכְבֶּ֖ה [בליל] (בַלַּ֣יְלָה) נֵרָֽהּ

טָ֭עֲמָה	She perceives
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular Root: טָעַם Sense: to taste, perceive, eat.
כִּי־	that
Parse: Conjunction Root: כִּי Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
ט֣וֹב	good
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular Root: טָבַב Sense: good, pleasant, agreeable.
סַחְרָ֑הּ	her merchandise [is]
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular Root: סַחַר Sense: traffic, gain, profit, gain from merchandise.
יִכְבֶּ֖ה	and does go out
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular Root: כָּבָה Sense: to quench, put out, be put out, be quenched, be extinguished.
[בליל]	-
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
(בַלַּ֣יְלָה)	by night
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: לַיִל Sense: night.
נֵרָֽהּ	her lamp
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular Root: נִיר Sense: lamp.

What are the major concepts related to Proverbs 31:18?

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Similar Scriptures for Proverbs 31:18

		Matthew 25:3-10 [3]
		1 Thessalonians 2:9 [3]
		Genesis 31:40 [2]
		Psalms 127:2 [2]
		2 Thessalonians 3:7-9 [2]