Online Bible

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.”