Verses 22-24 deal with the importance of having reliable relationships through marriage, wealth, and friendship. This saying in verse 22, like most of the material in Proverbs dealing with marriage, is expressed from the husband’s point of view.

“He who finds a wife finds a good thing”: “Finds” should not be translated by a word that gives the impression that the wife has been lost. “Finds” here means to “meet and marry.” In some languages it is necessary to say, for example, “The man who marries a woman. . ..” The text does not actually say that the wife is good, but “a good wife” is probably intended. In some social situations it is advisable to translate “a good wife” or “a good woman.” “A good thing” is a translation of the Hebrew term “good.” The sense is, as we see in the second line, that God has given the man good fortune; and so we may translate, for example, “If you find a good wife, you have been given good fortune” or “. . . you are fortunate.”

“And obtains favor from the Lord“: This line is identical to 8.35b. It does not mean that the man will then be able to obtain favor from God. Rather it means that by finding or marrying a good woman he has already been favored by the Lord. Note Good News Translation “it shows that the Lord is good to you,” and Contemporary English Version “she is a gift from the Lord.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .