Proverbs 8:1–9:11

The Blessing of Wisdom

¹Does not ^awisdom call,

And discernment give forth her voice?

²At the top of ^athe heights upon the way,

Where the pathways meet, she takes her stand;

³Beside the ^agates, at the opening to the city,

At the entrance of the doors, she makes a shout:

⁴“To you, O men, I call,

And my voice is to the sons of men.

⁵“O ^asimple ones, understand prudence;

And, O ^bfools, understand a heart of wisdom.

⁶“Listen, for I will speak ^anoble things;

And the opening of my lips will reveal ^bupright things.

⁷“For my ^amouth will utter truth;

And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

⁸“All the words of my mouth are in righteousness;

There is nothing ^atwisted or crooked in them.

⁹“They are all ^astraightforward to him who understands,

And right to those who ^bfind knowledge.

¹⁰“Take my ^adiscipline and not silver,

And knowledge rather than choicest fine gold.

¹¹“For wisdom is ^abetter than pearls;

And ^ball desirable things cannot compare with her.

¹²“I, wisdom, ^adwell with prudence,

And I find ^bknowledge and discretion.

¹³“The ^afear of Yahweh is to hate evil;

^bPride and arrogance and ^cthe evil way

And the mouth of ^1dperverted words, I hate.

¹⁴“^aCounsel is mine and ^bsound wisdom;

I am understanding, ^cmight is mine.

¹⁵“By me ^akings reign,

And rulers mark out righteousness.

¹⁶“By me princes rule, and nobles,

All who judge rightly.

¹⁷“I ^alove those who love me;

And ^bthose who earnestly seek me will find me.

¹⁸“^aRiches and glory are with me,

Enduring ^bwealth and righteousness.

¹⁹“My fruit is ^abetter than fine gold, even pure gold,

And my produce better than ^bchoice silver.

²⁰“I walk in the path of righteousness,

In the midst of the pathways of justice,

²¹To give those who love me an inheritance of wealth,

That I may ^afill their treasuries.

²²“Yahweh possessed me ^aat the beginning of His way,

Before His deeds ¹of old.

²³“From everlasting I was ^1ainstalled,

From the beginning, ^bfrom the earliest times of the earth.

²⁴“When there were no ^adepths I was ¹brought forth,

When there were no springs heavy with water.

²⁵“^aBefore the mountains were settled,

Before the hills I was ¹brought forth;

²⁶While He had not yet made the earth and the fields outside,

Nor the first dust of the world.

²⁷“When He ^aestablished the heavens, I was there,

When ^bHe marked out a circle on the face of the deep,

²⁸When He made firm the skies above,

When the springs of the deep became strong,

²⁹When ^aHe set for the sea its boundary

So that the water would not pass over His ¹command,

When He marked out ^bthe foundations of the earth;

³⁰Then ^aI was beside Him, as a master workman;

And I was a daily delight,

¹Rejoicing always before Him,

³¹¹Rejoicing in the world, His earth,

^aMy delight is in the sons of men.

³²“So now, O sons, ^alisten to me,

For ^bblessed are they who keep my ways.

³³“^aHear discipline and be wise,

And do not neglect it.

³⁴“^aHow blessed is the man who hears me,

To watch daily at my doors,

To keep watch at my doorposts.

³⁵“For ^ahe who finds me finds life

And ^bobtains favor from Yahweh.

³⁶“But he who ¹sins against me ^adoes violence to his own soul;

All those who ^bhate me ^clove death.”

CHAPTER 9

Wisdom and Foolishness Call Out

¹Wisdom has ^abuilt her house,

She has hewn out her seven pillars;

²She has ^1aslaughtered her cattle, she has ^bmixed her wine;

She has also ^cprepared her table;

³She has ^asent out her maidens, she ^bcalls

From the ^ctops of the heights of the city:

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

To him who ^blacks a heart of wisdom she says,

⁵“Come, ^aeat of my bread

And drink of the wine I have mixed.

⁶“¹Forsake your simplicity and ^alive,

And ^bstep into the way of understanding.”

⁷He who ^adisciplines a scoffer receives disgrace for himself,

And he who reproves a wicked man receives injury for himself.

^8aDo not reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you,

^bReprove a wise man and he will love you.

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

Make a righteous man know it and he will ^aincrease his learning.

¹⁰The ^afear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom,

And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

¹¹For ^aby me your days will become many,

And years of life will be added to you.