Proverbs 31:30

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

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised.

Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades. The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-GOD.

Fair looks are a deceit, and a beautiful form is of no value; but a woman who has the fear of the Lord is to be praised.

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.

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

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.