Proverbs 9:3–9

3 She has sent out her servants, and she calls

from the highest point of the city,

4 “Let all who are simple come to my house!”

To those who have no sense she says,

5 “Come, eat my food

and drink the wine I have mixed.

6 Leave your simple ways and you will live;

walk in the way of insight.”

7 Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults;

whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.

8 Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;

rebuke the wise and they will love you.

9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;

teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.

3 She hath sent forth her maidens:

She crieth upon the highest places of the city,

4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither:

As for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

5 Come, eat of my bread,

And drink of the wine which I have mingled.

6 Forsake the foolish, and live;

And go in the way of understanding.

7 He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame:

And he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.

8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee:

Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.

9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser:

Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

3 She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come.

She calls out from the heights overlooking the city.

4 “Come in with me,” she urges the simple.

To those who lack good judgment, she says,

5 “Come, eat my food,

and drink the wine I have mixed.

6 Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live;

learn to use good judgment.”

7 Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return.

Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt.

8 So don’t bother correcting mockers;

they will only hate you.

But correct the wise,

and they will love you.

9 Instruct the wise,

and they will be even wiser.

Teach the righteous,

and they will learn even more.

3 She has sent out her maidens,

She cries out from the highest places of the city,

4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”

As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,

5 “Come, eat of my bread

And drink of the wine I have mixed.

6 Forsake foolishness and live,

And go in the way of understanding.

7 “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself,

And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.

8 Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;

Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;

Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

3 She has sent out her servant girls,

and she calls out from the highest place in the city.

4 She says to those who are uneducated,

“Come in here, you foolish people!

5 Come and eat my food

and drink the wine I have prepared.

6 Stop your foolish ways, and you will live;

take the road of understanding.

7 “If you correct someone who makes fun of wisdom, you will be insulted.

If you correct an evil person, you will get hurt.

8 Do not correct those who make fun of wisdom, or they will hate you.

But correct the wise, and they will love you.

9 Teach the wise, and they will become even wiser;

teach good people, and they will learn even more.

3 She hath sent forth her maidens;

She crieth upon the highest places of the city:

4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither:

As for him that is void of understanding, she saith to him,

5 Come, eat ye of my bread,

And drink of the wine which I have mingled.

6 Leave off, ye simple ones, and live;

And walk in the way of understanding.

7 He that correcteth a scoffer getteth to himself reviling;

And he that reproveth a wicked man getteth himself a blot.

8 Reprove not a scoffer, lest he hate thee:

Reprove a wise man, and he will love thee.

9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser:

Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

3 she hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the summits of the high places of the city, 4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither. To him that is void of understanding, she saith, 5 Come, eat ye of my bread, and drink of the wine that I have mingled. 6 Forsake follies and live, and go in the way of intelligence. 7 He that instructeth a scorner getteth to himself shame; and he that reproveth a wicked man getteth to himself a blot. 8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee; reprove a wise man, and he will love thee. 9 Impart to a wise man, and he will become yet wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase learning.

3 She has sent out her servant girls. 

She calls from the highest places in the city, 

4 “Whoever is gullible turn in here!” 

She says to a person without sense, 

5 “Come, eat my bread, 

and drink the wine I have mixed. 

6 Stop being gullible and live. 

Start traveling the road to understanding.” 

7 Whoever corrects a mocker receives abuse. 

Whoever warns a wicked person gets hurt. 

8 Do not warn a mocker, or he will hate you. 

Warn a wise person, and he will love you. 

9 Give ⸤advice⸥ to a wise person, 

and he will become even wiser. 

Teach a righteous person, 

and he will learn more. 

3 She has sent out her female servants;

she calls out from the highest points of the city:

4 “Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!”

To the one who lacks sense, she says,

5 “Come, eat my bread,

and drink the wine I have mixed.

6 Leave inexperience behind, and you will live;

pursue the way of understanding.

7 The one who corrects a mocker

will bring dishonor on himself;

the one who rebukes a wicked man will get hurt.

8 Don’t rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you;

rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

9 Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still;

teach a righteous man, and he will learn more.

3 She has sent out her female servants; she calls

from the highest places in the town,

4 “You who are simple, turn in here!”

To those without sense she says,

5 “Come, eat of my bread

and drink of the wine I have mixed.

6 Lay aside immaturity and live,

and walk in the way of insight.”

7 Whoever corrects a scoffer wins abuse;

whoever rebukes the wicked gets hurt.

8 Do not rebuke a scoffer, lest he hate you;

rebuke the wise, and he will love you.

9 Give instruction to the wise, and they will become wiser still;

teach the righteous, and they will gain in learning.

3 She has sent her servant girls, she calls

upon the wings of the high places of town,

4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn here.”

As for the one who lacks sense, she says to him,

5 “Come, eat with my bread;

drink with the wine I have mixed.

6 Lay aside simplicity and live;

walk in the way of understanding.”

7 He who corrects a scoffer gains abuse for himself,

and he who rebukes the wicked gets hurt.

8 Do not rebuke a scoffer, lest he hate you;

rebuke the wise and he will love you.

9 Give to a wise one and he will become more wise;

teach a righteous one and he will increase learning.

3 She has sent out her female servants.

She calls out from the highest point of the city.

4 She says, “Let all who are childish come in here!”

She speaks to those who have no sense.

5 “Come and eat my food.

Drink the wine I have mixed.

6 Leave your childish ways and you will live.

Walk in the way that leads to understanding.

7 “When you correct someone who makes fun of others, you might be laughed at.

When you warn a sinner, you might get hurt.

8 Don’t warn those who make fun of others. They will hate you.

Warn those who are wise. They will love you.

9 Teach a wise man. He will become even wiser.

Teach a person who does right. He will learn even more.

3 She has sent out her maidens, she calls

From the tops of the heights of the city:

4 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!”

To him who lacks understanding she says,

5 “Come, eat of my food

And drink of the wine I have mixed.

6 “Forsake your folly and live,

And proceed in the way of understanding.”

7 He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself,

And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself.

8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,

Reprove a wise man and he will love you.

9 Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser,

Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.