First two "sentences" of Ayah 4:34

[Suppliant]

Peace Ladies!

Just wanted an opinion of what every one thinks this part of ayah 4:34 means?

4:34 The men are to support the women with what God has bestowed upon them over one another and for what they spend of their money. The upright females are dutiful; keeping private the personal matters for what God keeps watch over. As for those females from whom you fear desertion, then you shall advise them, and abandon them in the bedchamber, and separate from them. If they respond to you, then do not seek a way over them; God is Most High, Great.

^ free-minds.org translation

Sorry! I know very little Arabic.

I was thinking the part in bold may mean any number of things, but not sure if this is right.

Here is what I think: This first two "sentences" of the ayah talks about how the main function of men and women are to provide a stable foundation for a family unit. Men are to support women and their children, but women must also be upright (not lewd like in 4:15) and dutiful (assisting the husband at home with his affairs as well as a duty of care to children). The part I am stuck on is what God keeps watch over? Sure, we are to keep the relationship between man and wife private from others, but what does God keep watch over? Our relationship? Perhaps children or what is in our womb? Or is it merely our womanly private parts (I doubt this thought as God tells us to be upright already)?

Following that, I believe the second half of the ayah talks about what happens when the relationship "breaks down" when the women do not do their parts.

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks in advance, ladies!

[huruf]

Peace Ladies!

Just wanted an opinion of what every one thinks this part of ayah 4:34 means?

4:34 The men are to support the women with what God has bestowed upon them over one another and for what they spend of their money. The upright females are dutiful; keeping private the personal matters for what God keeps watch over. As for those females from whom you fear desertion, then you shall advise them, and abandon them in the bedchamber, and separate from them. If they respond to you, then do not seek a way over them; God is Most High, Great.

^ free-minds.org translation

Sorry! I know very little Arabic.

I was thinking the part in bold may mean any number of things, but not sure if this is right.

Here is what I think: This first two "sentences" of the ayah talks about how the main function of men and women are to provide a stable foundation for a family unit. Men are to support women and their children, but women must also be upright (not lewd like in 4:15) and dutiful (assisting the husband at home with his affairs as well as a duty of care to children). The part I am stuck on is what God keeps watch over? Sure, we are to keep the relationship between man and wife private from others, but what does God keep watch over? Our relationship? Perhaps children or what is in our womb? Or is it merely our womanly private parts (I doubt this thought as God tells us to be upright already)?

Following that, I believe the second half of the ayah talks about what happens when the relationship "breaks down" when the women do not do their parts.

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks in advance, ladies!

The highlighted in red part is what it is.

It says: and the virtuous, devoted to God (of the women) are keepers of what God kept.

If you read all the ayas in the Qur'an dealing with the conception and development of new lives in the wombs you will see.

On the other hand it must be that since anything other than that can as well be kept be the men, it is not anything exclusive with women.

The aya is structured as a balance where men, who have no work or labour in reproduction match women labour in reproduction by contributing materially to the wellbeing of women. Reproduction is the first task of any species. In a mixed society of men and women as is the human society therefore a just and equitable distribution of tasks must be the norm.

The private parts and faithfullness and privacy and all that is not something that is peculiar os exclusive to women, it is something that is required of both sexes, but the reproduction part is the one overloads disproportinately women.

The aya, is setting the general parameters for both sexes, it is not specifically dealing with wives and husbands. All society benefits from reproduction, so those are general rules for all.

In fact in many welfare societies something akin to this is done through taxes whereby wealth is redistributed. Women may reproduce without a husband and in fact it happens very often, that does not mean that society can ignore that task carried out by them. That, for instance, was the case with Maryam.

Salaam

[Wakas]

A detailed breakdown of the part in question can be found here:
http://www.quran434.com/wife-beating-islam.html#part2

"...guardians/protectors to the unseen/private with what God guarded/protected..." - may be related to what came before, i.e. implying part of being dutiful/obedient is to be this. When used for humans in this way, the unseen (al ghayb) cannot refer to THE unseen, i.e. the same unseen as God knows THE unseen, thus must refer to what is unseen/hidden/private from the people at large and/or her husband, but not to the person addressed. Seems to imply that whatever God ordered to be guarded (i.e. via scripture) in private/unseen, this is what they should guard. Also see 12:52 for an example of betrayal in the ghayb/unseen/private.