Proverbs 31:25

She is clothed ¹  with strength ²  and honor, ³  and she can laugh ⁴  at the time ⁵  to come.

Job 29:14; Job 40:10; Ps 97:11,12; Ps 132:9,16; Isa 61:10; Isa 65:13,14; Mt 25:20,21; Ro 13:14; Eph 4:24; 1Ti 2:10; 1Pe 5:5,6

¹ sn The idea of clothing and being clothed is a favorite figure in Hebrew. It makes a comparison between wearing clothes and having strength and honor. Just as clothes immediately indicate something of the nature and circumstances of the person, so do these virtues.

² tn The first word of the sixteenth line begins with ע (ayin), the sixteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

³ sn This word appears in Ps 111:3 which says that the Lord’s work is honorable, and here the woman is clothed with strength and honor.

⁴ sn Here “laugh” is either a metonymy of adjunct or effect. The point is that she is confident for the future because of all her industry and planning.

⁵ tn Heb “day.” This word is a metonymy of subject meaning any events that take place on the day or in the time to come.