“She opens her hand to the poor”: “Opens her hand” is an idiom that means “helps” (Contemporary English Version), “gives,” or “is generous” (Good News Translation). “The poor” here and “the needy” in the next line are the same terms as in verse 9.

“And reaches out her hands to the needy”: The sense of this line is similar to that of the previous line; Revised English Bible renders the line “[she] extends help to the poor.” Both Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version combine the two lines: “She is generous to the poor and needy” (Good News Translation), “she helps the poor and the needy” (Contemporary English Version).

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 .