The Bible on the True Dignity of Women

The Bible on the Dignity of Women

The first line of this section has been quoted many times, often at weddings, and then the rest of it is dismissed by many as "quaint" or "sexist." Nothing could be farther from the truth. Read the entire section and see how you feel if you were to know a woman like that, as a friend, or a family member. How would you feel about this woman if she were you? I know that a woman who feels like the woman described in these scriptures would have a serenity and a dignity, yet still be every bit as "interesting" and "self realized," in a way that is lacking in today's society where women are complicit in their own coarsening, and as a result, in their own depression and lack of self worth.

Proverbs 31: 10-31

When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize. She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life. She obtains wool and flax and makes cloth with skillful hands. Like merchant ships, she secures her provisions from afar. She rises while it is still night, and distributes food to the household. She picks out a field to purchase; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She is girt about with strength, and sturdy are her arms. She enjoys the success of her dealings; at night her lamp is undimmed. She puts her hand to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle. She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy. She fears not the snow for her household; all her charges are doubly clothed. She makes her own coverlets; fine linen and purple are her clothing. Her husband is prominent at the city gates as he sits with the elders of the land. She makes garments and sells them, and stocks the merchants with belts. She is clothed with strength and dignity and she laughs at the days to come. She opens her mouth in wisdom, and on her tongue is kindly counsel. She watches the conduct of her household, and eats not her food in idleness. Her children rise up and praise her; her husband, too, extols her: "Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all." Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her a reward of her labors, and let her works praise her at the city gates.