Proverbs 8-9

Proverbs 8

1It is Wisdom calling,
Understanding raising her voice.

2She takes her stand at the topmost heights,
By the wayside, at the crossroads,

3Near the gates at the city entrance;
At the entryways, she shouts,

4“O men, I call to you;
My cry is to all mankind.

5O simple ones, learn shrewdness;
O dullards, instruct your minds.

6Listen, for I speak noble things;
Uprightness comes from my lips;

7My mouth utters truth;
Wickedness is abhorrent to my lips.

8All my words are just,
None of them perverse or crooked;

9All are straightforward to the intelligent man,
And right to those who have attained knowledge.

10Accept my discipline rather than silver,
Knowledge rather than choice gold.

11For wisdom is better than rubies;
No goods can equal her.

12“I, Wisdom, live with Prudence;
I attain knowledge and foresight.

13To fear the LORD is to hate evil;
I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way,
And duplicity in speech.

14Mine are counsel and resourcefulness;
I am understanding; courage is mine.

15Through me kings reign
And rulers decree just laws;

16Through me princes rule,
Great men and all the righteous judges.-a

17Those who love me I love,
And those who seek me will find me.

18Riches and honor belong to me,
Enduring wealth and success.

19My fruit is better than gold, fine gold,
And my produce better than choice silver.

20I walk on the way of righteousness,
On the paths of justice.

21I endow those who love me with substance;
I will fill their treasuries.

22“The LORD created me at the beginning of His course
As the first of His works of old.

23In the distant past I was fashioned,
At the beginning, at the origin of earth.

24There was still no deep when I was brought forth,
No springs rich in water;

25Before [the foundations of] the mountains were sunk,
Before the hills I was born.

26He had not yet made earth and fields,
Or the world’s first clumps of clay.

27I was there when He set the heavens into place;
When He fixed the horizon upon the deep;

28When He made the heavens above firm,
And the fountains of the deep gushed forth;

29When He assigned the sea its limits,
So that its waters never transgress His command;
When He fixed the foundations of the earth,

30I was with Him as a confidant,
A source of delight every day,
Rejoicing before Him at all times,

31Rejoicing in His inhabited world,
Finding delight with mankind.

32Now, sons, listen to me;
Happy are they who keep my ways.

33Heed discipline and become wise;
Do not spurn it.

34Happy is the man who listens to me,
Coming early to my gates each day,
Waiting outside my doors.

35For he who finds me finds life
And obtains favor from the LORD.

36But he who misses me destroys himself;
All who hate me love death.”

Proverbs 9

1Wisdom has built her house,
She has hewn her seven pillars.

2She has prepared the feast,
Mixed the wine,
And also set the table.

3She has sent out her maids to announce
On the heights of the town,

4“Let the simple enter here”;
To those devoid of sense she says,

5“Come, eat my food
And drink the wine that I have mixed;

6Give up simpleness and live,
Walk in the way of understanding.”

7To correct a scoffer,
Or rebuke a wicked man for his blemish,
Is to call down abuse on oneself.

8Do not rebuke a scoffer, for he will hate you;
Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

9Instruct a wise man, and he will grow wiser;
Teach a righteous man, and he will gain in learning.

10The beginning of wisdom is fear of the LORD,
And knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

11For through me your days will increase,
And years be added to your life.

12If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
If you are a scoffer, you bear it alone.

13The stupid woman bustles about;
She is simple and knows nothing.

14She sits in the doorway of her house,
Or on a chair at the heights of the town,

15Calling to all the wayfarers
Who go about their own affairs,

16“Let the simple enter here”;
And to those devoid of sense she says,

17“Stolen waters are sweet,
And bread eaten furtively is tasty.”

18He does not know that the shades are there,
That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.