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." |