Wisdom as Creator

22  “The Lord already possessed me long ago, 

when his way began, 

before any of his works. 

23  I was appointed from everlasting 

from the first, 

before the earth began. 

24  I was born 

before there were oceans, 

before there were springs filled with water. 

25  I was born 

before the mountains were settled in their places 

and before the hills, 

26  when he had not yet made land or fields 

or the first dust of the world. 

27  “When he set up the heavens, I was there. 

When he traced the horizon on the surface of the ocean, 

28  when he established the skies above, 

when he determined the currents in the ocean, 

29  when he set a limit for the sea 

so the waters would not overstep his command, 

when he traced the foundations of the earth, 

30  I was beside him as a master craftsman. 

I made him happy day after day, 

I rejoiced in front of him all the time, 

31  found joy in his inhabited world, 

and delighted in the human race.