Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, July 10th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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Read the Bible

Complete Jewish Bible

Proverbs 31:19

י She puts her hands to the staff with the flax; her fingers hold the spinning rod.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Art;   Distaff;   Economics;   Industry;   Poetry;   Spindle;   Spinning;   Wife;   Women;   Thompson Chain Reference - Arts and Crafts;   Ostentation;   Spindles;   Spinners;   Woman;   The Topic Concordance - Charity;   Praise;   Speech/communication;   Virtue;   Women;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Arts of the;   Hands, the;   Industry;   Wives;   Woman;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Garments;   Lemuel;   Letters;   Proverb, the Book of;   Weaving;   Woman;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Wife;   Work;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Beauty;   Woman;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Distaff;   Poetry;   Wife;   Woman;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Education;   Lemuel;   Marriage;   Weaving;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Acrostic;   Cloth, Clothing;   Distaff;   Marriage;   Proverbs, Book of;   Spindle;   Spinning and Weaving;   Wisdom and Wise Men;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Acrostic;   Ethics;   Marriage;   Massa;   Song of Songs;   Spinning and Weaving;   Trade and Commerce;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Home (2);   Parents (2);   Sirach;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Distaff;   Poetry;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Spinning;   Writing;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Distaff;   Linen;   Spinning;   Woman;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Acrostics;   Distaff;   Monogamy;   Poetry;   Spinning;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
She extends her hands to the spinning staff,and her hands hold the spindle.
Hebrew Names Version
She lays her hands to the distaff, And her hands hold the spindle.
King James Version
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
English Standard Version
She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
New American Standard Bible
She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle.
New Century Version
She makes thread with her hands and weaves her own cloth.
Amplified Bible
She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands hold the spindle [as she spins wool into thread for clothing].
World English Bible
She lays her hands to the distaff, And her hands hold the spindle.
Geneva Bible (1587)
She putteth her handes to the wherue, and her handes handle the spindle.
Legacy Standard Bible
She stretches out her hands to the distaff,And her hands hold fast the spindle.
Berean Standard Bible
She stretches out her hands to the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
Contemporary English Version
She spins her own cloth,
Darby Translation
She putteth her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
Easy-to-Read Version
She makes her own thread and weaves her own cloth.
George Lamsa Translation
She stretches out her arms diligently, and puts her hands to the spindle.
Good News Translation
She spins her own thread and weaves her own cloth.
Lexham English Bible
Her hands she puts onto the distaff, and her palms hold a spindle.
Literal Translation
She has sent forth her hands on the distaff, and her hands have held the spindle.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
She layeth hir fyngers to the spyndle, & hir hande taketh holde of ye rocke.
American Standard Version
She layeth her hands to the distaff, And her hands hold the spindle.
Bible in Basic English
She puts her hands to the cloth-working rod, and her fingers take the wheel.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
She layeth her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
King James Version (1611)
She layeth her handes to the spindle, and her handes hold the distaffe.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
She layeth her fingers to the spindle, & her hande taketh holde of the distaffe.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
She reaches forth her arms to needful works, and applies her hands to the spindle.
English Revised Version
She layeth her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sche putte hir hondis to stronge thingis, and hir fyngris token the spyndil.
Update Bible Version
She lays her hands to the distaff, And her hands hold the spindle.
Webster's Bible Translation
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
New English Translation
Her hands take hold of the distaff, and her hands grasp the spindle.
New King James Version
She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle.
New Living Translation
Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber.
New Life Bible
She puts her hands to the wheel to make cloth.
New Revised Standard
She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Her hands, she putteth forth to the distaff, and, her palms, lay hold of the spindle:
Douay-Rheims Bible
She hath put out her hand to strong things, and her fingers have taken hold of the spindle.
Revised Standard Version
She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
Young's Literal Translation
Her hands she hath sent forth on a spindle, And her hands have held a distaff.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle.

Contextual Overview

10 א Who can find a capable wife? Her value is far beyond that of pearls. 11 ב Her husband trusts her from his heart, and she will prove a great asset to him. 12 ג She works to bring him good, not harm, all the days of her life. 13 ד She procures a supply of wool and flax and works with willing hands. 14 ה She is like those merchant vessels, bringing her food from far away. 15 ו It's still dark when she rises to give food to her household and orders to the young women serving her. 16 ז She considers a field, then buys it, and from her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17 ח She gathers her strength around her and throws herself into her work. 18 ט She sees that her business affairs go well; her lamp stays lit at night. 19 י She puts her hands to the staff with the flax; her fingers hold the spinning rod.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

She takes the spindle in her right hand, by twisting which she twists the thread; while she holds the distaff, on which the wool or flax is rolled, in the guard of the left arm, and draws down the thread with the fingers of the left hand. Exodus 35:25, Exodus 35:26

Reciprocal: Proverbs 31:24 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 31:4
So Ya‘akov sent for Rachel and Le'ah and had them come to the field where his flock was.
Genesis 31:5
He said to them, "I see by the way your father looks that he feels differently toward me than before; but the God of my father has been with me.
Genesis 31:14
Rachel and Le'ah answered him, "We no longer have any inheritance from our father's possessions;
Genesis 31:24
But God came to Lavan the Arami in a dream that night and said to him, "Be careful that you don't say anything to Ya‘akov, either good or bad."
Genesis 31:30
Granted that you had to leave, because you longed so deeply for your father's house; but why did you steal my gods?"
Genesis 31:32
But if you find your gods with someone, that person will not remain alive. So with our kinsmen to witness, if you spot anything that I have which belongs to you, take it back." Ya‘akov did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
Genesis 31:34
Now Rachel had taken the household gods, put them in the saddle of the camel and was sitting on them. Lavan felt all around the tent but did not find them.
Genesis 35:2
Then Ya‘akov said to his household and all the others with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that you have with you, purify yourselves, and put on fresh clothes.
Joshua 24:2
Y'hoshua said to all the people, "This is what Adonai the God of Isra'el says: ‘In antiquity your ancestors lived on the other side of the [Euphrates] River — Terach the father of Avraham and Nachor — and they served other gods.
Judges 18:31
Thus they erected for themselves Mikhah's idol which he had made, and it remained there as long as the house of God was in Shiloh.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

She layeth her hands to the spindle,.... As Penelope and her maidens did t. Or spinning wheel, more properly, the wheel itself, which is laid hold on by the right hand, and turned round;

and her hands hold the distaff; the rock, stick, or staff, about which the wool is wrapped, which is spun, and is held in the left hand; for though hands are mentioned in both clauses, yet it is only with one hand the wheel is turned, and the distaff held with the other. Not only wool and flax were sought by her, Proverbs 31:13; but she spins them, and works them up into garments her web is not like the spider's, spun out of its own bowels, on which it hangs; to which the hope and trust of a hypocrite are compared, and whose webs do not become garments to cover them, Job 8:14; but the church's web is both for ornament, to the adorning of her profession, and for defence and protection from the calumnies of the world; for by these are meant good works, as Ambrose interprets them.

t Homer, Odyss. 1. v. 357. & 21. v. 351.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 31:19. She layeth her hands to the spindle

10. She gives an example of skill and industry to her household. She takes the distaff, that on which the wool or flax was rolled; and the spindle, that by twisting of which she twisted the thread with the right hand, while she held the distaff in the guard of the left arm, and drew down the thread with the fingers of the left hand. Allowing that spindle and distaff are proper translations of כישור kishor, and פלך pelech, this was their use, and the way in which they were used. The spindle and distaff are the most ancient of all the instruments used for spinning, or making thread. The spinning-wheel superseded them in these countries; but still they were in considerable use till spinning machinery superseded both them and the spinning-wheels in general.


 
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