Proverbs 8:1–36

Wisdom’s Appeal

8Doesn’t Wisdom ^pcall out?

Doesn’t Understanding make her voice heard?

²At the heights overlooking the road,

at the crossroads, she takes her stand.

³Beside the gates ^qat the entry to ^rthe city,

at the main entrance, she cries out:

⁴“People, I call out to you;

my cry is to mankind.

⁵Learn to be shrewd, you who are inexperienced;

develop common sense, you who are foolish.

⁶Listen, for I speak of noble things,

and what my lips say is right.

⁷For my mouth tells the truth, ^s

and wickedness is detestable to my lips.

⁸All the words of my mouth are righteous;

none of them are deceptive or perverse. ^t

⁹All of them are clear to the perceptive, ^u

and right to those who discover knowledge.

¹⁰Accept my instruction instead of silver,

and knowledge rather than pure gold. ^v

¹¹For wisdom is better than jewels, ^w

and nothing desirable can compare with it. ^x

¹²I, Wisdom, share a home with shrewdness

and have knowledge and discretion. ^y

¹³To fear the Lord is to hate evil. ^z

I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct,

and perverse speech.

¹⁴I possess good advice and competence; ^a

I have understanding and strength. ^b

¹⁵It is by me that kings reign ^c

and rulers enact just law;

¹⁶by me, princes lead,

as do nobles and all righteous judges. ^d

¹⁷I love those who love me, ^e

and those who search for me find me. ^f

¹⁸With me are riches and honor, ^g

lasting wealth and righteousness. ^h

¹⁹My fruit is better than solid gold,

and my harvest than pure silver. ⁱ

²⁰I walk in the way of righteousness,

along the paths of justice,

²¹giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me,

and filling their treasuries.

²²“The Lord made ^jme

at the beginning of His creation, ^k

before His works of long ago. ^l

²³I was formed before ancient times,

from the beginning, before the earth began. ^m

²⁴I was born

when there were no watery depths ⁿ

and no springs filled with water.

²⁵I was delivered

before the mountains and hills were established, ^o

²⁶before He made the land, the fields,

or the first soil on earth.

²⁷I was there when He established the heavens, ^p

when He laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean, ^q

²⁸when He placed the skies above,

when the fountains of the ocean gushed out,

²⁹when He set a limit for the sea

so that the waters would not violate His command, ^r

when He laid out the foundations of the earth. ^s

³⁰I was a skilled craftsman ^tbeside Him. ^u

I was His ^vdelight every day,

always rejoicing before Him.

³¹I was rejoicing in His inhabited world, ^w

delighting in the human race. ^x

³²“And now, my sons, listen to me;

those who keep my ways are happy. ^y

³³Listen to instruction and be wise; ^z

don’t ignore it.

³⁴Anyone who listens to me is happy, ^a

watching at my doors every day,

waiting by the posts of my doorway.

³⁵For the one who finds me finds life ^b

and obtains favor from the Lord, ^c

³⁶but the one who misses me ^dharms himself; ^e

all who hate me love death.” ^f