Proverbs 8–9

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.”

The Way of Wisdom

9Wisdom has ^abuilt her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars;

^2bShe has slaughtered her meat,

^cShe has mixed her wine,

She has also ¹furnished her table.

³She has sent out her maidens,

She cries out from the highest places of the city,

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

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

⁵“Come, ^eeat of my bread

And drink of the wine I have mixed.

⁶Forsake 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.

^8fDo not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;

^gRebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

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

Teach a just man, ^hand he will increase in learning.

¹⁰“The ⁱfear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

^11jFor by me your days will be multiplied,

And years of life will be added to you.

^12kIf you are wise, you are wise for yourself,

And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.”

The Way of Folly

^13lA foolish woman is ²clamorous;

She is simple, and knows nothing.

¹⁴For she sits at the door of her house,

On a seat ^mby the highest places of the city,

¹⁵To call to those who pass by,

Who go straight on their way:

¹⁶“Whoever ⁿis ³simple, let him turn in here”;

And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,

¹⁷“Stolen ^owater is sweet,

And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”

¹⁸But he does not know that ^pthe dead are there,

That her guests are in the depths of ⁴hell.