Finding a wife


There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.
-Proverbs 14:12

There is no decision more important than choosing a spouse.  How do I choose?  Many ways of seeking or picking seem right, feel right; but may prove to be fatal.

A man who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.
-Proverbs 18:22

After finding wisdom, the best thing a man can find is a wife.  The NLT puts it this way:
The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord.

And the NET emphasizes that she is a good wife:

The one who has found a good wife has found what goodness is, and obtained a delightful gift from the Lord.

The contrast is that all wives are not good:

A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a wife’s nagging is an endless dripping.
-Proverbs 19:13


Better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.
-Proverbs 21:9 and 25:24


An endless dripping on a rainy day and a nagging wife are alike;
-Proverbs 27:15

The picture here is that a nagging wife destroys the peace of the household, like endless drips of water perhaps through the roof into the home on a rainy day.  The picture here is of a person who wants to argue about everything.  Maybe they find fault with everything you do and let you know.  

Discussion and dialogue, even debate are good and can be very fruitful and build intimacy or community; but quarrelsomeness is when a person wants to argue to seemingly take away tranquility and divide; just causing pain and suffering.  

Nagging is not a gentle reminder or encouragement, but a gnawing and a controlling style of words that eats away at others rather than building them up.  Nagging has a negative connotation that goes beyond reminding someone, into being contentious or controlling.


Who can find a wife of noble character? She is far more precious than jewels.
-Proverbs 31:10

A house and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
-Proverbs 19:14

The way to find a wife (or a husband) is to let God choose.

What does prudent mean in this verse?  Sensible, insightful, good, good sense, wise, understanding, congenial; is how the word is translated other than prudent.  Prudent is defined (in the freedictionary.com) as: "Careful or wise in handling practical matters; exercising good judgment or common sense: a prudent manager of money."


Comments