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Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
Proverbs 31:23 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Her husband is respected in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.
  • BSB Her husband is known at the city gate, where he sits among the elders of the land.
  • NKJV Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
  • NASB Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
  • NLT Her husband is well known at the city gates, where he sits with the other civic leaders.

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

Her husband is respected among the leaders, sitting with the elders at the city gates.

Overview

Her excellence contributes to her husband's good standing in the community, where he serves among its leaders. A worthy spouse strengthens and honors the whole household's reputation. This mutual blessing reflects how godly character in the home bears fruit in the wider community, to the honor of God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Prov 12:4A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.
  • Ruth 4:1Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.
  • Deut 16:18Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
  • Ruth 4:11And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
  • Deut 21:19Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
  • Prov 24:7Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.
  • Job 29:7When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Proverbs videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Proverbs 31:23YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ProverbsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 31:23 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.