Proverbs 31:30
“Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Context
This climactic verse of the acrostic poem -- and one of the final verses of Proverbs -- names reverence for God as the true source of a praiseworthy life, summing up the book's central theme.
What Does Proverbs 31:30 Mean?
Proverbs 31:30 teaches that charm can mislead and beauty fades, but a woman who reverently honors God is the one truly worthy of praise. The verse offers a clear-eyed assessment of what the world often prizes. "Favour" -- outward charm or grace -- "is deceitful," because it can flatter and mislead, promising more than it delivers. "Beauty is vain," meaning fleeting, like a vapor; physical appearance inevitably passes with time.
Against these passing things the proverb sets something lasting: "a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised." The fear of the LORD is the reverent awe and devotion that has been the foundation of the entire book of Proverbs -- the beginning of wisdom. Here, at the climax of the closing poem, it is named as the true source of lasting worth and honor. This is not a rejection of beauty or grace, but a reordering of values: what endures and deserves praise is not appearance but reverence for God and the character it produces. The verse delivers the punchline of the whole chapter and indeed the whole book: a life anchored in the fear of the LORD is the life that will be honored. For every reader, it is a call to seek the kind of inner worth that time cannot erode.
In the Original Language
The word "favour" is "chen," charm or grace. "Vain" is "hevel," vapor or fleeting breath, and "feareth" is "yare'," to reverence or stand in awe -- the book's foundational theme.
Cross References
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
- Proverbs 1:7
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
- Proverbs 9:10
“But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”
- 1 Peter 3:4
Application
Seek the inner worth that time cannot erode -- a reverent devotion to God -- rather than placing your value in charm or appearance, which fade and can deceive.