Bible Strands
Proverbs 31:17
She girds herself with strength and shows that her arms are strong.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The passage describes a woman actively engaged in her daily labor, positioned between appraising a field to purchase and monitoring her household’s nighttime operations.
The words — חָֽגְרָ֣ה (cha.ge.Rah) means "she girds," and וַ֝/תְּאַמֵּ֗ץ (va./te.'a.Metz) means "and she strengthened," both denoting the physical act of preparing the body for exertion.
The thread — The motif of bracing and strengthening recurs in Job 38:3 as a divine command to prepare for inquiry, Ephesians 6:10 as a directive to rely on mighty power, and 1 Peter 1:13 as an instruction to ready the mind for action.
Why it lands — The text requires practical readiness, instructing the reader to actively prepare their physical and mental faculties for sustained work rather than waiting for external provision.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
Cross-references
- Job 38:3 Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
- Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
- 1 Peter 1:13 Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- 1 Kings 18:46 And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
- Luke 12:35 Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning.
- Ephesians 6:14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed,
- 2 Kings 4:29 So Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment, take my staff in your hand, and go! If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer him. Then lay my staff on the boy’s face.”
- Isaiah 44:12 The blacksmith takes a tool and labors over the coals; he fashions an idol with hammers and forges it with his strong arms. Yet he grows hungry and loses his strength; he fails to drink water and grows faint.
- Genesis 49:24 Yet he steadied his bow, and his strong arms were tempered by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
- Hosea 7:15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms, they plot evil against Me.