Proverbs 31:30
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
American King James Version (AKJV)
Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
American Standard Version (ASV)
Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain; But a woman that feareth Jehovah, she shall be praised.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
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.
Webster's Revision
Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
World English Bible
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears Yahweh, she shall be praised.
English Revised Version (ERV)
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Definitions for Proverbs 31:30
Clarke's Proverbs 31:30 Bible Commentary
Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain, etc. -
III. Here is the summing up of the character.
1. Favour, חן chen, grace of manner may be deceitful, many a fair appearance of this kind is put on, assumed for certain secular or more unworthy purposes; it is learned by painful drilling in polished seminaries, and, being the effect of mere physical discipline, it continues while the restraint lasts; but it is שקר sheker, a lie, a mere semblance, an outward varnish. It is not the effect of internal moral regulation; it is an outside, at which the inside murmurs; and which, because not ingenuous, is a burden to itself.
2. Beauty, היפי haiyophi, elegance of shape, symmetry of features, dignity of mien, and beauty of countenance, are all הבל hebel, vanity; sickness impairs them, suffering deranges them, and death destroys them.
3. "But a woman that feareth the Lord," that possesses true religion, has that grace that harmonizes the soul, that purifies and refines all the tempers and passions, and that ornament of beauty, a meek and quiet mind, which in the sight of God is of great price: -
She shall be praised - This is the lasting grace, the unfading beauty.
Barnes's Proverbs 31:30 Bible Commentary
The last lesson of the book is the same as the first. The fear of the Lord is the condition of all womanly, as well as of all manly, excellence.
Wesley's Proverbs 31:30 Bible Commentary
31:30 Favour - Comeliness, which commonly gives women favour with those who behold them. Deceitful - It gives a false representation of the person, being often a cover to a deformed soul; it does not give a man that satisfaction, which at first he promised to himself from it; and it is soon lost, not only by death, but by many diseases and contingencies.