Proverbs 8

¹Doth not wisdom call? And understanding give forth her voice? ²At the head of high places by the way, Between the paths she hath stood, ³At the side of the gates, at the mouth of the city, The entrance of the openings, she crieth aloud, ⁴‘Unto you, O men, I call, And my voice is unto the sons of men. ⁵Understand, ye simple ones, prudence, And ye fools, understand the heart, ⁶Hearken, for noble things I speak, And the opening of my lips is uprightness. ⁷For truth doth my mouth utter, And an abomination to my lips is wickedness. ⁸In righteousness are all the sayings of my mouth, Nothing in them is froward and perverse. ⁹All of them are plain to the intelligent, And upright to those finding knowledge. ¹⁰Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold. ¹¹For better is wisdom than rubies, Yea, all delights are not comparable with it.

¹²I, wisdom, have dwelt with prudence, And a knowledge of devices I find out. ¹³The fear of Jehovah is to hate evil; Pride, and arrogance, and an evil way, And a froward mouth, I have hated. ¹⁴Mine is counsel and substance, I am understanding, I have might. ¹⁵By me kings reign, and princes decree righteousness, ¹⁶By me do chiefs rule, and nobles, All judges of the earth. ¹⁷I love those loving me, And those seeking me earnestly do find me. ¹⁸Wealth and honour are with me, Lasting substance and righteousness. ¹⁹Better is my fruit than gold, even fine gold, And mine increase than choice silver. ²⁰In a path of righteousness I cause to walk, In midst of paths of judgment, ²¹To cause my lovers to inherit substance, Yea, their treasures I fill.

²²Jehovah possessed me—the beginning of His way, Before His works since then. ²³From the age I was anointed, from the first, From former states of the earth. ²⁴In there being no depths, I was brought forth, In there being no fountains heavy with waters, ²⁵Before mountains were sunk, Before heights, I was brought forth. ²⁶While He had not made the earth, and out-places, And the top of the dusts of the world. ²⁷In His preparing the heavens I am there, In His decreeing a circle on the face of the deep, ²⁸In His strengthening clouds above, In His making strong fountains of the deep, ²⁹In His setting for the sea its limit, And the waters transgress not His command, In His decreeing the foundations of earth, ³⁰Then I am near Him, a workman, And I am a delight—day by day. Rejoicing before Him at all times, ³¹Rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth, And my delights are with the sons of men.

³²And now, ye sons, hearken to me, Yea, happy are they who keep my ways. ³³Hear instruction, and be wise, and slight not. ³⁴O the happiness of the man hearkening to me, To watch at my doors day by day, To watch at the door-posts of my entrance. ³⁵For whoso is finding me, hath found life, And bringeth out good-will from Jehovah. ³⁶And whoso is missing me, is wronging his soul, All hating me have loved death!

Chapter 9