King James Version

Proverbs 12:4

A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

Study

Hebrew

Tap a word to see its meaning. Words run left to right in English reading order.

אֵֽשֶׁתesheteachאִשָּׁהnoun, common, feminine, singular, construct — “each”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH802a woman(adulter) ess, each, every, female, [idiom] many, [phrase] none, one, [phrase] together, wife, woman. Often unexpressed in English.חַ֭יִלchayilarmyחַיִלnoun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “army”, the ordinary formH2428probably a force, whether of men, means or other resources; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strengthable, activity, ([phrase]) army, band of men (soldiers), company, (great) forces, goods, host, might, power, riches, strength, strong, substance, train, ([phrase]) valiant(-ly), valour, virtuous(-ly), war, worthy(-ily).עֲטֶ֣רֶתateretcrownעֲטָרָהnoun, common, feminine, singular, construct — “crown”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH5850a crowncrown.בַּעְלָ֑הּbalahhusbandבַּעַלnoun, common, masculine, singular, construct, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, feminine, singular — “husband”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH1167a master; hence, a husband, or (figuratively) owner (often used with another noun in modifications of this latter sense)[phrase] archer, [phrase] babbler, [phrase] bird, captain, chief man, [phrase] confederate, [phrase] have to do, [phrase] dreamer, those to whom it is due, [phrase] furious, those that are given to it, great, [phrase] hairy, he that hath i…וּכְרָקָ֖בukheraqavand as rottennessרָקָבconjunction, preposition, noun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “and as rottenness”, the ordinary formH7538decay (by caries)rottenness (thing).בְּעַצְמוֹתָ֣יוbeatsmotayvin bodyעֶצֶםpreposition, noun, common, feminine, plural, construct, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “in body”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH6106a bone (as strong); by extension, the body; figuratively, the substance, i.e. (as pron.) selfsamebody, bone, [idiom] life, (self-) same, strength, [idiom] very.מְבִישָֽׁהmevishahbe confoundedבּוּשׁverb, hiphil, participle, absolute — “be confounded”, a verb used as a describing wordH954properly, to pale, i.e. by implication to be ashamed; also (by implication) to be disappointed or delayed(be, make, bring to, cause, put to, with, a-) shamed(-d), be (put to) confounded(-fusion), become dry, delay, be long.

Jewish translation (JPS 1917)

A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband; but she that doeth shamefully is as rottenness in his bones.

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

A worthy woman is the crown of her husband; But she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

Young’s Literal Translation

A virtuous woman [is] a crown to her husband, And as rottenness in his bones [is] one causing shame.

World English Bible

A worthy woman is the crown of her husband, but a disgraceful wife is as rottenness in his bones.

Darby Translation

A woman of worth is a crown to her husband; but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

Douay-Rheims

A diligent woman is a crown to her husband: and she that doth things worthy of confusion, is a rottenness in his bones.

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband; but she that doeth shamefully is as rottenness in his bones.

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband; but as a worm in wood, so a bad woman destroys her husband.

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

Γυνὴ ἀνδρεία στέφανος τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς· ὥσπερ δὲ ἐν ξύλῳ σκώληξ, οὕτως ἄνδρα ἀπόλλυσι γυνὴ κακοποιός.