Proverbs 31:14 New English Translation

¹⁴She was^[a] like the merchant ships;^[b]
she would bring in^[c] her food from afar.

Proverbs 31:14 tn The first word of the fifth line begins with ה (he), the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) is stative, so theoretically its perfect form could be present tense or past tense. But the context gives her past accomplishments, so it is past tense here.
Proverbs 31:14 sn The point of the simile is that she goes wherever she needs to go, near and far, to gather in all the food for the needs and the likes of the family. The line captures the vision and the industry of this woman.
Proverbs 31:14 tn The imperfect verb (תָּבִיא, taviʾ) is used in its past habitual sense. The verbs describing the woman from verses 12-29 include 19 perfects and 9 preterites which describe actions with past time references. Thus the four imperfect verbs that describe her (vv. 14, 18, 21, 27) should be understood as modal and operating in a past time frame.

New English Translation (NET)