Online Bible

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.”

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.”