to be self-controlled(A) and pure, to be busy at home,(B) to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands,(C) so that no one will malign the word of God.(D)

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Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

10 [a]A wife of noble character(A) who can find?(B)
    She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband(C) has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value.(D)
12 She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
    and works with eager hands.(E)
14 She is like the merchant ships,
    bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
    she provides food for her family
    and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
    her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
    and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
    and extends her hands to the needy.(F)
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
    where he takes his seat among the elders(G) of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
    and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.(H)
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
    but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
    and let her works bring her praise(I) at the city gate.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 31:10 Verses 10-31 are an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Instructions for Christian Households(A)

18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands,(B) as is fitting in the Lord.

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10 and is well known for her good deeds,(A) such as bringing up children, showing hospitality,(B) washing the feet(C) of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble(D) and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.

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Wives, in the same way submit yourselves(A) to your own husbands(B) so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over(C) without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.(D) Rather, it should be that of your inner self,(E) the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.(F) For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God(G) used to adorn themselves.(H) They submitted themselves to their own husbands,

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13 Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies(A) who talk nonsense,(B) saying things they ought not to. 14 So I counsel younger widows to marry,(C) to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander.(D)

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33 However, each one of you also must love his wife(A) as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

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16 To the woman he said,

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
    with painful labor you will give birth to children.(A)
Your desire will be for your husband,
    and he will rule over you.(B)

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All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect,(A) so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered.(B)

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11 A woman[a] should learn in quietness and full submission.(A) 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man;[b] she must be quiet.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Timothy 2:11 Or wife; also in verse 12
  2. 1 Timothy 2:12 Or over her husband

22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands(A) as you do to the Lord.(B) 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church,(C) his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands(D) in everything.

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But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ,(A) and the head of the woman is man,[a](B) and the head of Christ is God.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 11:3 Or of the wife is her husband

36 In Joppa(A) there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good(B) and helping the poor.

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11 (She is unruly(A) and defiant,
    her feet never stay at home;

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34 Women[a] should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak,(A) but must be in submission,(B) as the law(C) says.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 14:34 Or peace. As in all the congregations of the Lord’s people, 34 women

24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”[a](A)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 2:24 Isaiah 52:5 (see Septuagint); Ezek. 36:20,22

39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows(A) stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

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10 How long(A) will the enemy mock(B) you, God?
    Will the foe revile(C) your name forever?

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14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for[a] the Lord,(A) the son born to you will die.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 12:14 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text for the enemies of

“Where is your wife Sarah?”(A) they asked him.

“There, in the tent,(B)” he said.

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And he said, “Hagar,(A) slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”(B)

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.”

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