Proverbs 31:18

18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night.

Proverbs 31:18 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 31:18

She perceiveth that her merchandise [is] good
That it turns to good account; that her trading to heaven is of great advantage; that she grows rich hereby; that her merchandise with Wisdom, or Christ, is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereby than fine gold; and though her voyages are attended with trouble and danger, yet are profitable, and therefore she is not discouraged, but determined to pursue them; she is like the merchant man, seeking goodly pearls, who finds a pearl of great price, worth all his trouble; (See Gill on Proverbs 31:14) and see ( Proverbs 3:14 ) ( Matthew 13:45 Matthew 13:46 ) ; her candle goeth not out by night;
or "lamp" F19; her lamp of profession, which is always kept burning, ( Luke 12:35 ) ; or the glorious light of the Gospel, which always continues in the darkest times the church ever has been in; or her spiritual prosperity, which, though it may be damped, will never be extinct; when the candle of the wicked is often put out, ( Job 21:17 ) ; It may denote her diligence in working; who, as she rises early in the morning, ( Proverbs 31:15 ) , so sits up late at night, and is never weary of well doing, night and day. Ambrose interprets it of the lamp of hope, which burns in the night, and by and for which men work, ( Romans 8:24 ) ( 1 Corinthians 9:10 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F19 (hrn) "lucerna ejus", V. L. Tigurine version, Michaelis, Schultens.

Proverbs 31:18 In-Context

16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She is energetic and strong, a hard worker.
18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night.
19 Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber.
20 She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy.
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