Proverbs 31:12

Pro 31:12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

Ver. 12. She will do him good, and not evil, &c.] She is constant in her conjugal affection, and sticks to him, as Sarah did to Abraham, in all changes and chances whatsoever. She "leaves not off her kindness to the living, and to the dead." {Rth 2:20} See that notable example of the Lady Valadaura in Ludovicus Vives.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

do . . . good--contribute good to him.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 12. She will do him good]

4. She has her husband's happiness in view constantly. She recompenses all his kindness to her in beneficent acts. For kind words she returns kind deeds.

1) Her good is unmixed; she will do him good, and not evil.

2) Her good is not capricious; it is constant and permanent, while she and her husband live. His heart safely trusts in her, for she will do him good all the days of her life. This is her general character.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

She will do him good, and not evil,.... Or, repay good unto him, give him thanks for all the good things bestowed by him on her; will seek his interest, and promote his honour and glory to the uttermost; all the good works she does, which she is qualified for, and ready to perform, are all done in his name and strength, and with a view to his glory; nor will she do any evil willingly and knowingly against him, against his truths and ordinances; or that is detrimental to his honour, and prejudicial to his interest, Co2 13:8;

all the days of her life; through which she desires to serve him in righteousness and true holiness; and to be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in his work, Luk 1:74.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

She will improve, and not waste his estate.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12, 13. She will do him good — This is a continuation of the thought in the latter part of the preceding verse. So far the terms are general. The speaker now descends to particulars.

Seeketh wool… flax — Either from flock or field.

Worketh willingly with her hands — Literally, with the delight of her hands. “Every kind of drapery for the person, the tent, or the house, was manufactured by the women at home, who made it a matter of pride to be able to boast that their husband and children were entirely clad by the labour of their own hands.” — Kitto. Women of the highest rank, the wives and daughters of nobles and kings, in ancient times devoted themselves to spinning, weaving, and other processes in the manufacture of clothing for their own use, and that of their families, as also for sale in the markets. There are frequent allusions to this in the Scriptures, and in the Greek and Roman classics. While the pursuits of husbandry — the labours of the field — employed: —

“The king and awful fathers of mankind,”

the women of their households managed the domestic affairs, preparing both the food and the clothing of their families. Where so much had to be accomplished in the home circle, we see the reason of the value attached to capability and energy in the wife, that she might attend wisely and well to the complicated arts of her establishment.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

GIMEL. She will do him good and not evil (comp. Ecc 26:1-3). She is consistent in her conduct towards her husband, always pursuing his best interests. All the days of her life; in good times or bad, in the early spring time of young affection, and in the waning years of declining age. Her love, based on high principles, knows no change or diminution. The old commentator refers to the conduct of St. Monies to her unbelieving and unfaithful husband, narrated by St. Augustine in his "Confessions," 9:9: "Having been given over to a husband, she served him as her lord; and busied herself to win him to thee, revealing thee to him by her virtues, in which thou madest her beautiful, and reverently amiable, and admirable to her husband."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12 ג She doeth good to him, and not evil,

All the days of her life;

or, as Luther translates:

"Sie thut jm liebs und kein leids."

[She does him good, and no harm.]

She is far from ever doing him evil, she does him only good all her life long; her love is not dependent on freaks, it rests on deep moral grounds, and hence derives its power and purity, which remain ever the same. גּמל signifies to accomplish, to perform. To the not assimilated form גּמלתהוּ, cf. יסּרתּוּ, 1b.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)