Proverbs 8

The Excellence of Wisdom

8Does not ^awisdom cry out, And understanding lift up her voice?

²She takes her stand on the top of the ¹high hill,

Beside the way, where the paths meet.

³She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city,

At the entrance of the doors:

⁴“To you, O men, I call,

And my voice is to the sons of men.

⁵O you ²simple ones, understand prudence,

And you fools, be of an understanding heart.

⁶Listen, for I will speak of ^bexcellent things,

And from the opening of my lips will come right things;

⁷For my mouth will speak truth;

Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

⁸All the words of my mouth are with righteousness;

Nothing crooked or perverse is in them.

⁹They are all plain to him who understands,

And right to those who find knowledge.

¹⁰Receive my instruction, and not silver,

And knowledge rather than choice gold;

^11cFor wisdom is better than rubies,

And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.

¹²“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,

And find out knowledge and discretion.

^13dThe fear of the Lord is to hate evil;

^ePride and arrogance and the evil way

And ^fthe perverse mouth I hate.

¹⁴Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom;

I am understanding, ^gI have strength.

^15hBy me kings reign,

And rulers decree justice.

¹⁶By me princes rule, and nobles,

All the judges of ³the earth.

¹⁷ⁱI love those who love me,

And ^jthose who seek me diligently will find me.

^18kRiches and honor are with me,

Enduring riches and righteousness.

¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold,

And my revenue than choice silver.

²⁰I ⁴traverse the way of righteousness,

In the midst of the paths of justice,

²¹That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth,

That I may fill their treasuries.

²²“The ^lLord possessed me at the beginning of His way,

Before His works of old.

^23mI have been established from everlasting,

From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.

²⁴When there were no depths I was brought forth,

When there were no fountains abounding with water.

²⁵ⁿBefore the mountains were settled,

Before the hills, I was brought forth;

²⁶While as yet He had not made the earth or the ⁵fields,

Or the ⁶primal dust of the world.

²⁷When He prepared the heavens, I was there,

When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,

²⁸When He established the clouds above,

When He strengthened the fountains of the deep,

^29oWhen He assigned to the sea its limit,

So that the waters would not transgress His command,

When ^pHe marked out the foundations of the earth,

^30qThen I was beside Him as ⁷a master craftsman;

^rAnd I was daily His delight,

Rejoicing always before Him,

³¹Rejoicing in His inhabited world,

And ^smy delight was with the sons of men.

³²“Now therefore, listen to me, my children,

For ^tblessed are those who keep my ways.

³³Hear instruction and be wise,

And do not disdain it.

^34uBlessed is the man who listens to me,

Watching daily at my gates,

Waiting at the posts of my doors.

³⁵For whoever finds me finds life,

And ^vobtains favor from the Lord;

³⁶But he who sins against me ^wwrongs his own soul;

All those who hate me love death.”