The Commendation of Wisdom
Does not awisdom call,
And understanding lift up her voice?
2 On top of athe heights beside the way,
Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
3 Beside the agates, at the opening to the city,
At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:
4 “To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men.
5 “O anaive ones, understand prudence;
And, O bfools, understand wisdom.
6 “Listen, for I will speak anoble things;
And the opening of my lips will reveal bright things.
7 “For my amouth will utter truth;
And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 “All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing acrooked or perverted in them.
9 “They are all astraightforward to him who understands,
And right to those who bfind knowledge.
10 “Take my ainstruction and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choicest gold.
11 “For wisdom is abetter than jewels;
And ball desirable things cannot compare with her.
12 “I, wisdom, adwell with prudence,
And I find bknowledge and discretion.
13 “The afear of the Lord is to hate evil;
bPride and arrogance and cthe evil way
And the dperverted mouth, I hate.
14 “aCounsel is mine and bsound wisdom;
I am understanding, cpower is mine.
15 “By me akings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
16 “By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.
17 “I alove those who love me;
And bthose who diligently seek me will find me.
18 “aRiches and honor are with me,
Enduring bwealth and righteousness.
19 “My fruit is abetter than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield better than bchoicest silver.
20 “I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
21 To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may afill their treasuries.
22 “The Lord possessed me aat the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.
23 “From everlasting I was aestablished,
From the beginning, bfrom the earliest times of the earth.
24 “When there were no adepths I was brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
25 “aBefore the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was brought forth;
26 While He had not yet made the earth and the fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.
27 “When He aestablished the heavens, I was there,
When bHe inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
28 When He made firm the skies above,
When the springs of the deep became fixed,
29 When aHe set for the sea its boundary
So that the water would not transgress His command,
When He marked out bthe foundations of the earth;
30 Then aI was beside Him, as a master workman;
And I was daily His delight,
Rejoicing always before Him,
31 Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
And having amy delight in the sons of men.
32 “Now therefore, O sons, alisten to me,
For bblessed are they who keep my ways.
33 “aHeed instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.
34 “aBlessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.
35 “For ahe who finds me finds life
And bobtains favor from the Lord.
36 “But he who sins against me ainjures himself;
All those who bhate me clove death.”
Wisdom’s Invitation
Wisdom has abuilt her house,
She has hewn out her seven pillars;
2 She has aprepared her food, she has bmixed her wine;
She has also cset her table;
3 She has asent out her maidens, she bcalls
From the ctops of the heights of the city:
4 “aWhoever is naive, let him turn in here!”
To him who blacks understanding she says,
5 “Come, aeat of my food
And drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 “Forsake your folly and alive,
And bproceed in the way of understanding.”
7 He who acorrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself,
And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself.
8 aDo not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,
bReprove a wise man and he will love you.
9 Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser,
Teach a righteous man and he will aincrease his learning.
10 The afear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For aby me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.
12 If you are wise, you are wise afor yourself,
And if you bscoff, you alone will bear it.
13 The woman of folly is aboisterous,
She is naive and bknows nothing.
14 She sits at the doorway of her house,
On a seat by athe high places of the city,
15 Calling to those who pass by,
Who are making their paths straight:
16 “aWhoever is naive, let him turn in here,”
And to him who lacks understanding she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet;
And abread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the dead are there,
That her guests are in the adepths of Sheol.
Contrast of the Righteous and the Wicked
The aproverbs of Solomon.
bA wise son makes a father glad,
But ca foolish son is a grief to his mother.
2 aIll‑gotten gains do not profit,
But righteousness delivers from death.
3 The Lord awill not allow the righteous to hunger,
But He bwill reject the craving of the wicked.
4 Poor is he who works with a negligent hand,
But the ahand of the diligent makes rich.
5 He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely,
But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.
6 aBlessings are on the head of the righteous,
But bthe mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
7 The amemory of the righteous is blessed,
But bthe name of the wicked will rot.
8 The awise of heart will receive commands,
But a babbling fool will be ruined.
9 He awho walks in integrity walks securely,
But bhe who perverts his ways will be found out.
10 He awho winks the eye causes trouble,
And ba babbling fool will be ruined.
11 The amouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
But bthe mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
But alove covers all transgressions.
13 On athe lips of the discerning, wisdom is found,
But ba rod is for the back of him who lacks understanding.
14 Wise men astore up knowledge,
But with bthe mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand.
15 The arich man’s wealth is his fortress,
The bruin of the poor is their poverty.
16 The awages of the righteous is life,
The income of the wicked, punishment.
17 He ais on the path of life who heeds instruction,
But he who ignores reproof goes astray.
18 He awho conceals hatred has lying lips,
And he who spreads slander is a fool.
19 When there are amany words, transgression is unavoidable,
But bhe who restrains his lips is wise.
20 The tongue of the righteous is as achoice silver,
The heart of the wicked is worth little.
21 The alips of the righteous feed many,
But fools bdie for lack of understanding.
22 It is the ablessing of the Lord that makes rich,
And He adds no sorrow to it.
23 Doing wickedness is like asport to a fool,
And so is wisdom to a man of understanding.
24 What athe wicked fears will come upon him,
But the bdesire of the righteous will be granted.
25 When the awhirlwind passes, the wicked is no more,
But the brighteous has an everlasting foundation.
26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
So is the alazy one to those who send him.
27 The afear of the Lord prolongs life,
But the byears of the wicked will be shortened.
28 The ahope of the righteous is gladness,
But the bexpectation of the wicked perishes.
29 The away of the Lord is a stronghold to the upright,
But bruin to the workers of iniquity.
30 The arighteous will never be shaken,
But bthe wicked will not dwell in the land.
31 The amouth of the righteous flows with wisdom,
But the bperverted tongue will be cut out.
32 The lips of the righteous bring forth awhat is acceptable,
But the bmouth of the wicked what is perverted.