8:1  Does not wisdom call, And understanding lift up her voice?

8:2  On top of the heights beside the way, Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

8:3  Beside the gates, at the opening to the city, At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:

8:4  "To you, O men, I call, And I extend my voice to the sons of men.

8:5  "O naive ones, understand prudence; And, O fools, understand wisdom.

8:6  "Listen, for I will speak noble things; And the opening of my lips will reveal right things.

8:7  "For my mouth will utter truth; And I consider wickedness an abomination to my lips.

8:8  "All the utterances of my mouth I maintain righteousness; I will allow nothing crooked or perverted in them.

8:9  "They all prove straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge.

8:10  "Take my instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choicest gold.

8:11  "For wisdom proves more valuable than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her.

8:12  "I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And I find knowledge and discretion.

8:13  "The fear of the LORD leads one to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.

8:14  " Counsel belongs to me and sound wisdom; I embody understanding, power belongs to me.

8:15  "By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice.

8:16  "By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly.

8:17  "I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.

8:18  " Riches and honor reside with me, Enduring wealth and righteousness.

8:19  "My fruit has more value than gold, even pure gold, And my yield better than choicest silver.

8:20   "I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice,

8:21  To endow those who love me with wealth, That I may fill their treasuries.

8:22  "The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old.

8:23   "From everlasting He established me, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.

8:24   "When no depths existed He brought me forth, When no springs abounded with water.

8:25  " Before He settled the mountains, Before the hills He brought me forth;

8:26  While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world.

8:27  "When He established the heavens, I accompanied Him,When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,

8:28  When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed,

8:29   When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth;

8:30  Then I stood beside Him, as a master workman; And He considered me daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him,

8:31  Rejoicing in the world, His earth,

8:32  "Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessings accrue on those who keep my ways.

8:33  " Heed instruction and grow in wisdom, And do not neglect it.

8:34   " The man who listens to me will receive blessings, Watching daily at my gates,Waiting at my doorposts.

8:35  "For he who finds me finds life And obtains favor from the LORD.

8:36  "But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death."