She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household because she has provided them all with warm, protective clothing suited to cold weather. The word translated scarlet is given in the margin as double garments, indicating double thickness that gives adequate protection against cold. Clothing should therefore be chosen for warmth, protection, durability and usefulness rather than for display.
In its wider context the verse belongs to a portrait of a wife and mother's true sphere as thorough knowledge and training in every department of domestic labor and preparedness to provide for her household. She presides as a queen in her own domain, fully competent to guide and instruct her children and direct her servants, and when needed to meet the wants of her household with her own hands. That competence includes learning to cut, make and mend clothing and to cook and prepare food in a wholesome and palatable manner.
Such training should begin in childhood with a regular share in household duties, including washing, sweeping, dusting, and work in the kitchen and garden. It also includes understanding the human body and the principles of hygiene, diet, dress, labor and recreation, including the best methods of treating disease, so she can care for her children in sickness instead of leaving them to strangers. Lacking these practical skills in cooking and garment making can leave a wife and mother dependent on others and contribute to unhappy family life.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household because she has provided them all with warm, protective clothing suited to cold weather. The word translated scarlet is given in the margin as double garments, indicating double thickness that gives adequate protection against cold. Clothing should therefore be chosen for warmth, protection, durability and usefulness rather than for display.
In its wider context the verse belongs to a portrait of a wife and mother's true sphere as thorough knowledge and training in every department of domestic labor and preparedness to provide for her household. She presides as a queen in her own domain, fully competent to guide and instruct her children and direct her servants, and when needed to meet the wants of her household with her own hands. That competence includes learning to cut, make and mend clothing and to cook and prepare food in a wholesome and palatable manner.
Such training should begin in childhood with a regular share in household duties, including washing, sweeping, dusting, and work in the kitchen and garden. It also includes understanding the human body and the principles of hygiene, diet, dress, labor and recreation, including the best methods of treating disease, so she can care for her children in sickness instead of leaving them to strangers. Lacking these practical skills in cooking and garment making can leave a wife and mother dependent on others and contribute to unhappy family life.