Proverbs 31:30

Charm is deceitful ¹  and beauty is fleeting, ²  but a woman who fears the Lord ³  will be praised.

Ex 1:17-21; 2Sa 14:25; Es 1:11,12; Ps 147:11; Pr 1:7; Pr 6:25; Pr 8:13; Pr 11:22; Ec 7:18; Ec 12:13; Eze 16:15; Lu 1:6,46-50; Ro 2:29; 1Co 4:5; Jas 1:11; 1Pe 1:7; 1Pe 1:24; 1Pe 3:4,5; 1Pe 3:4

¹ tn The first word of the twenty-first line begins with שׁ (shin), the twenty-first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The graphic distinction between שׁ (shin) and שׂ (sin) had not been made at the time the book of Proverbs was written; that graphic distinction was introduced by the Masoretes, ca. a.d. 1000.

² sn The verse shows that “charm” and “beauty” do not endure as do those qualities that the fear of the Lord produces. Charm is deceitful: One may be disappointed in the character of the one with beauty. Beauty is vain (fleeting as a vapor): Physical appearance will not last. The writer is not saying these are worthless; he is saying there is something infinitely more valuable.

³ sn This chapter describes the wise woman as fearing the Lord. It is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom – that was the motto of the book (1:7). Psalm 111:10 also repeats that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.