Online Bible

The Commendation of Wisdom

Does not ^awisdom call,And understanding lift up her voice?2 On the top of ^athe heights beside the way,Where the paths meet, wisdom takes her stand;3 Beside the ^agates, at the entrance to the city,At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:4 “To you, O men, I call,And my voice is directed to the sons of men.5 “O you ^anaive or inexperienced who are easily misled, understand prudence and seek astute common sense;And, O you closed-minded, self-confident ^bfools, understand wisdom seek the insight and self-discipline that leads to godly living. Is 32:66 “Listen, for I will speak ^aexcellent and noble things;And the opening of my lips will reveal ^bright things.7 “For my ^amouth will utter truth,And wickedness is repulsive and loathsome to my lips.8 “All the words of my mouth are in righteousness (upright, in right standing with God) ;There is nothing ^acontrary to truth or perverted (crooked) in them.9 “They are all ^astraightforward to him who understands with an open and willing mind,And right to those who ^bfind knowledge and live by it.10 “Take my ^ainstruction rather than seeking silver,And take knowledge rather than choicest gold,11 For wisdom is ^abetter than rubies;And ^ball desirable things cannot compare with her. Job 28:15; Ps 19:10; 119:127

12 “I, godly wisdom, ^areside with prudence good judgment, moral courage and astute common sense,And I find ^bknowledge and discretion. James 1:513 “The reverent ^afear and worshipful awe of the LORD includes the hatred of 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 and strength are mine.15 “By me ^akings reignAnd rulers decide and decree justice. Dan 2:21; Rom 13:116 “By me princes rule, and nobles,All who judge and govern rightly.17 “I ^alove those who love me;And ^bthose who seek me early and diligently will find me. 1+@Sam 2:30; Ps 91:14; John 14:21; James 1:518 “^aRiches and honor are with me,Enduring ^bwealth and righteousness (right standing with God) . Prov 3:16; Matt 6:3319 “My fruit is ^abetter than gold, even pure gold,And my yield is better than ^bchoicest silver.20 “I, Wisdom, continuously walk in the way of righteousness,In the midst of the paths of justice,21 That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth and true riches,And that I may ^afill their treasuries.

22 “The LORD created and possessed me ^aat the beginning of His way,Before His works of old were accomplished.23 “From everlasting I was ^aestablished and ordained,From the beginning, ^bbefore the earth existed, I, godly wisdom, existed. John 1:1; 1+@Cor 1:2424 “When there were no ocean ^adepths I was born,When there were no fountains and springs overflowing with water.25 “^aBefore the mountains were settled,Before the hills, I was born; Job 15:7, 826 While He had not yet made the earth and the fields,Or the first of the dust of the earth.27 “When He ^aestablished the heavens, I Wisdom was there;When ^bHe drew a circle upon the face of the deep,28 When He made firm the skies above,When the fountains and springs of the deep became fixed and strong,29 When ^aHe set for the sea its boundarySo that the waters would not transgress the boundaries set by His command,When He marked out ^bthe foundations of the earth— Job 38:10, 11; Ps 104:6-9; Jer 5:2230 Then ^aI was beside Him, as a master craftsman;And I was daily His delight;Rejoicing before Him always, Matt 3:17; John 1:2, 1831 Rejoicing in the world, His inhabited earth,And having ^amy delight in the sons of men. Ps 16:3

32 “Now therefore, O sons, ^alisten to me,For ^bblessed happy, prosperous, to be admired are they who keep my ways. Ps 119:1, 2; 128:1, 2; Luke 11:2833 “^aHeed (pay attention to) instruction and be wise,And do not ignore or neglect it.34 “^aBlessed happy, prosperous, to be admired is the man who listens to me,Watching daily at my gates,Waiting at my doorposts.35 “For ^awhoever finds me (Wisdom) finds lifeAnd ^bobtains favor and grace from the LORD.36 “But he who fails to find me or sins against me ^ainjures himself;All those who ^bhate me ^clove and court death.”

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The Commendation of Wisdom

Does not ^awisdom call,And understanding ¹lift 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 ¹^anaive ones, understand prudence;And, O ^bfools, understand ²wisdom.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 ¹jewels;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 wayAnd 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 ¹of old.23 “From everlasting I was ¹^aestablished,From the beginning, ^bfrom the earliest times of the earth.24 “When there were no ^adepths I was ¹brought forth,When there were no springs abounding with water.25 “^aBefore the mountains were settled,Before the hills I was ¹brought forth;26 While He had not yet made the earth and the ¹fields,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 ¹fixed,29 When ^aHe set for the sea its boundarySo that the water would not transgress His ¹command,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,¹Rejoicing always before Him,31 ¹Rejoicing 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 lifeAnd ^bobtains favor from the LORD.36 “But he who ¹sins against me ^ainjures himself;All those who ^bhate me ^clove death.”

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The Blessing of Wisdom

Does not ^awisdom call,And discernment give forth her voice?2 At the top of ^athe heights upon the way,Where the pathways meet, she takes her stand;3 Beside the ^agates, at the opening to the city,At the entrance of the doors, she makes a shout:4 “To you, O men, I call,And my voice is to the sons of men.5 “O ^asimple ones, understand prudence;And, O ^bfools, understand a heart of wisdom.6 “Listen, for I will speak ^anoble things;And the opening of my lips will reveal ^bupright things.7 “For my ^amouth will utter truth;And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.8 “All the words of my mouth are in righteousness;There is nothing ^atwisted or crooked in them.9 “They are all ^astraightforward to him who understands,And right to those who ^bfind knowledge.10 “Take my ^adiscipline and not silver,And knowledge rather than choicest fine gold.11 “For wisdom is ^abetter than pearls;And ^ball desirable things cannot compare with her.

12 “I, wisdom, ^adwell with prudence,And I find ^bknowledge and discretion.13 “The ^afear of Yahweh is to hate evil;^bPride and arrogance and ^cthe evil wayAnd the mouth of ¹^dperverted words, I hate.14 “^aCounsel is mine and ^bsound wisdom;I am understanding, ^cmight is mine.15 “By me ^akings reign,And rulers mark out righteousness.16 “By me princes rule, and nobles,All who judge rightly.17 “I ^alove those who love me;And ^bthose who earnestly seek me will find me.18 “^aRiches and glory are with me,Enduring ^bwealth and righteousness.19 “My fruit is ^abetter than fine gold, even pure gold,And my produce better than ^bchoice silver.20 “I walk in the path of righteousness,In the midst of the pathways of justice,21 To give those who love me an inheritance of wealth,That I may ^afill their treasuries.

22 “Yahweh possessed me ^aat the beginning of His way,Before His deeds ¹of old.23 “From everlasting I was ¹^ainstalled,From the beginning, ^bfrom the earliest times of the earth.24 “When there were no ^adepths I was ¹brought forth,When there were no springs heavy with water.25 “^aBefore the mountains were settled,Before the hills I was ¹brought forth;26 While He had not yet made the earth and the fields outside,Nor the first dust of the world.27 “When He ^aestablished the heavens, I was there,When ^bHe marked out a circle on the face of the deep,28 When He made firm the skies above,When the springs of the deep became strong,29 When ^aHe set for the sea its boundarySo that the water would not pass over His ¹command,When He marked out ^bthe foundations of the earth;30 Then ^aI was beside Him, as a master workman;And I was a daily delight,¹Rejoicing always before Him,31 ¹Rejoicing in the world, His earth,^aMy delight is in the sons of men.

32 “So now, O sons, ^alisten to me,For ^bblessed are they who keep my ways.33 “^aHear discipline and be wise,And do not neglect it.34 “^aHow blessed is the man who hears me,To watch daily at my doors,To keep watch at my doorposts.35 “For ^ahe who finds me finds lifeAnd ^bobtains favor from Yahweh.36 “But he who ¹sins against me ^adoes violence to his own soul;All those who ^bhate me ^clove death.”

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The Commendation of Wisdom

Does not ^awisdom call,And understanding ¹raise 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, people, I call,And my voice is to ¹mankind.5 “You ^anaive ones, understand prudence;And, you ^bfools, understand ¹wisdom!6 “Listen, for I will speak ^anoble things;And the opening of my lips will reveal ^bright things.7 “For my ^amouth will proclaim truth;And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.8 “All the words 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 “Accept my ^ainstruction and not silver,And knowledge rather than choice gold.11 “For wisdom is ^abetter than ¹jewels;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, arrogance, ^cthe evil way,And the ^dperverted mouth, I hate.14 “^aAdvice 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 ^bchoice 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 ¹created me ^aat the beginning of His way,Before His works ²of old.23 “From eternity I was ¹^aestablished,From the beginning, ^bfrom the earliest times of the earth.24 “When there were no ^aocean depths, I was born,When there were no springs abounding with water.25 “^aBefore the mountains were settled,Before the hills, I was born;26 While He had not yet made the earth and the ¹fields,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 ¹fixed,29 When ^aHe set a boundary for the seaSo that the water would not violate His ¹command,When He marked out ^bthe foundations of the earth;30 Then ^aI was beside Him, as a master workman;And I was His delight daily,¹Rejoicing always before Him,31 ¹Rejoicing in the world, His earth,And having ^amy delight in the sons of mankind.

32 “Now then, sons, ^alisten to me,For ^bblessed are those who keep my ways.33 “^aListen to instruction and be wise,And do not neglect it.34 “^aBlessed is the person who listens to me,Watching daily at my gates,Waiting at my doorposts.35 “For ^aone who finds me finds life,And ^bobtains favor from the LORD.36 “But one who ¹sins against me ^ainjures himself;All those who ^bhate me ^clove death.”