“She perceives that her merchandise is profitable”: The verb rendered “perceives” generally means “taste,” but here its meaning is figurative. It refers to what the housewife finds out by trial or from experience; in this sense most versions follow Revised Standard Version or say that she “sees” (New International Version, Revised English Bible) or “knows” (New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). The last part of the line is literally “that her trading gain is good.” The housewife recognizes that her work or her business activity is bringing profit; two expressions of this are “She sees that her trading is profitable” (New International Version) and “She knows that her affairs are going well” (New Jerusalem Bible).

“Her lamp does not go out at night”: A “lamp” is an oil-burning light similar to oil or kerosene lamps used in many parts of the world today. This line is easy to translate literally, and many versions follow Revised Standard Version. But this statement is really a figurative comment on the work of the housewife; so Good News Translation says “[she] works late into the night” and Contemporary English Version “she stays busy until late at night.”

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 .