She sees that her gain is good, and her lamp is not extinguished at night.
Parallel translations
- WEB She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp doesn’t go out by night.
- KJV She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
- NKJV She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night.
- NASB She senses that her profit is good; Her lamp does not go out at night.
- NLT She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
She sees that her work is profitable, and her lamp burns late into the night.
Overview
Her diligence yields good results, and she labors tirelessly, her lamp not going out even at night. The image conveys both fruitful enterprise and steadfast perseverance. Such faithful, productive industry reflects the wisdom that works with foresight and endurance, trusting God to bless honest labor.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 1 Th 2:9Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
- Matt 25:3–10The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take along any extra oil.
- Gen 31:40As it was, the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.
- 2 Th 3:7–9For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you,
- Ps 127:2In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 31:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.